Modern Royals
by Amenaya
Summary: Arthur was a kindergarten teacher who expected to live his life peacefully, but everything had changed upon the appearance of an American physician. USUK, Cardverse AU X Modern AU
1. Prologue

**A/N: So here I tried writing my first story in English! Once again, I used to write things in Chinese and English is not my mother tongue so some weird expressions may appear D: I guess this story will last for 1x chapters or something like that 030 I will just switch between working on the translation of See You Again and this! As this is my first update, I will also post Chapter 1 along with Prologue**** at once :)! So please notice that there is a chapter following behind! ENJOY ([∂]ω[∂])／＼(言****_**言)!

* * *

**Prologue**

Blood. Blood everywhere. Never would Jones family expect their unwelcoming visitor to arrive so early. Maybe too early.

A loud cry was the only thing alive in this dreadful hell. It was emitted from a baby boy. The poor lad didn't aware of his parents' death, but his instinct was telling him something was wrong. He was in danger. He wasn't going to make it.

A tall white-haired man was approaching his cradle with scarlet liquid splashed all over his body. He didn't even bother to look down on the corpses he was stepping on. His violet orbs were totally occupied by the only survivor in this room. His eyes widened in euphoria as he found the one he had been chasing after for hundreds of years.

"Good evening, your majesty. I apologise for disturbing your peaceful rest." He bowed to the bawling boy as he stretched out his hand to stroke the baby's cheek, smiling innocently to the scared lad, "However, this is an emergency so do forgive my impoliteness."

"Are you feeling miserable for the loss of your folks? You should thank me for granting them a quick execution. Usually I would spare their lives for torturing, making them kneel in front of me and beg for mercy. However, your guardians were so stubborn that they kept fighting till the last of their breath." The man shrugged helplessly, "Thus, I was forced to end their life before I could enjoy their lovely scream so as to make things go smoother. Such a pity" He sighed.

"And now, it comes to you, my king. You are so young and…vulnerable. It's inhuman for me to lay a hand on a pure child." The man had pulled his hand back from the baby's cheek. Instead, he slowly rubbed the boy's arm with his pipe, scratching the baby's soft and flawless skin. His dearest weapon was starving. Its hollow body was demanding for a feast of fear.

"But we both know the truth," He paused "that a land can only be ruled by one king." The man raised his pipe as he gave the child his last harmless smile. It was his duty to make sure his client rest in peace.

"So, good night, King of Spades." With a gentle farewell, Ivan Braginski wielded his pipe.


	2. Chapter 1: New Colleague

**A/N: Here is a reference to the human name of nations used in the story :)**

**Romulus=Rome**

**Jack=Australia**

**Kaelin=New Zealand**

**ENJOY!**

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**Chapter 1: New Colleague**

Arthur Kirkland was standing in front of the mirror, having a final check on his appearance before leaving. As a 23-years-old male, his job was not of common. Yes, he was a kindergarten teacher. Despite rare job nature for a man, he still spared no effort to nurture each and every kid in his class. He couldn't resist to their beaming face after all, regardless the fact they always play pranks on him. They were mischievous and childish, but still lovable. Call it parental love.

He stared at his mop of blond hair with fierce annoyance burning in his eyes. His hair went in different directions as usual. After trying to comb his hair down for thousands times, he decided to give up, seeing that they were too wild to be tamed. He resolved to hide his head in the sand eventually, attempting to remedy his outlook by having a tidy attire.

Trim shirt, checked. Ironed trousers, checked. Messy hair, ignored. Inspection completed.

"Frog! I am leaving!" He shouted to the upstairs, only responded by a blurred mumble of 'au revoir' that could barely be heard. Francis Bonnefoy was his guardian, although the Frenchman loved to be called as 'big brother' more. He has been the one who took care of him since he was born. At the age of 36, Francis had successfully maintained his charm of a mature man, also known as the fatal weapon for women. Flirting with ladies has been his life-time interest and habit. Nevertheless, he was smart enough not to bring any women back home. He had complained that a presence of a grumpy Englishman would kill his pleasure, but Arthur knew the truth. He had cruelly threatened the Frenchman that if he saw any feminine existence in the house, he would tell the whole street that he was his illegitimate child, which was literally correct.

Arthur sighed as he picked up his briefcase and opened the door, letting the Frenchman continue to enjoy his sleep. The weather was nice today with sun hanging high in the sky above. He could even hear that melodious tune sung by birds echoing beside in early-morning hours. Arthur inhaled a breath of fresh air contently as he took a look at his watch, 7:30. The school opened at 8:30. Maybe he could spend some leisure time in a cozy teashop nearby.

He started humming unconsciously as he walked to 'Britannia Teashop'. He just couldn't wait to take a sip of fragrant tea. What a nice start of a new day.

* * *

Although Britannia wasn't very large in size, it was Arthur's favourite place for killing time. He could never get sick of the unique odour of tealeaves. After all, he was English born and bred with black tea flowing inside his veins. Thank you very much.

"Romulus?" He opened the shop door just to see his employer sitting in the corner of the shop. He was flipping a newspaper before looking up to Arthur. Noticing the other's presence, he immediately greeted Arthur with a bright smile.

"Hey Arthur! Morning!" The Italian showed his enthusiastic ethnic characteristic without holding back. He waved at Arthur passionately, gesturing him to sit opposite him.

"Good morning." Arthur greeted him politely as he sat down at Romulus's table. "Earl Grey, thanks." He waved at the waiter nearby and ordered his favourite tea.

Romulus was the principal of Hetalia kindergarten, also the boss of Arthur. Despite his upper position, he always showed cares to his subordinates, fostering a peaceful working atmosphere in the kindergarten naturally.

"Arthur, let me tell you some news." Romulus lowered his voice as he whispered to Arthur when no one was paying attention to them at all. Arthur sighed internally. Romulus was a generous employer. Still, he loved gossiping, which was quite similar to Francis at this point. Arthur could foresee his morning already. He was affirmative that he wasn't going to enjoy a quiet tea time.

"What is it, Romulus?" He couldn't evade but answer his boss reluctantly. He knew he had to feign curiosity so as to satisfy the Italian. Otherwise, he would keep nagging at him to no end. Gratefully, his aid, his cup of tea, just arrived.

"Well, we are going to have a new colleague today!" Arthur nearly spit his tea ungentlemanly upon Romulus's declaration. He put down his tea and frowned, "A new colleague? What is his position?"

"Wait, let me read out his portfolio to you." Romulus took out a piece of paper exaggeratedly. Despite wanting to remind his boss about respecting other's privacy, Arthur couldn't help but started to concentrate on Romulus's words. His interest was piqued.

"Alfred F. Jones, 19, fresh college graduate. Position applied for," Romulus paused as he winked to the Englishman "physician."

"Well, I guess a physician is urgently needed." Arthur's face paled slightly when he recalled an accident happened before. During his lesson, one of his students, Jack, a quite naughty Australian child, accidently bumped his head when playing an unapproved hide-and-seek. The lad immediately burst into tears. Arthur still remembered the horrifying scenario that he needed to do first-aid for the injured Aussie while comforting other children who were ready to follow suit, which was crying along with Jack, at the same time. It has been a memorable catastrophe. At least the boy didn't go unconscious because of the strike, which was a huge relief.

Arthur didn't lose his composure however. He kept whispering 'Hush, hush' in the boy's ear softly while hugging him gently in his embrace, patting his back as comfort. Finally, the boy calmed down and his loud cry had alleviated into a quiet sob. Arthur put him down lightly, examining his injury. Fortunately, it was just a light scratch on forehead. He immediately made an announcement to the class that there will be an inter-class activity where the whole class had to move to a bigger classroom. After having led the whole bunch of kids to Miss Elizabeta Héderváry, a teacher nearby, and informed her about the accident, he left the class under the Hungarian teacher's control before taking Jack to medical room for first-aid treatment.

He was acclaimed by other kindergarten staff and parents for his swift adaptability and skilled treatment afterwards. He had accepted their applause humbly without revealing the truth that he was 'trained' to deal with injuries during his early age as a rogue. Well, wounds were his company of all time.

"Yes, that's what I am concerning about too." Romulus rubbed his temple, "After all, our students are far too…active."

"Precisely." Arthur replied before taking another sip of the tea. "However, I think Mr. Carriedo was the one who need a physician the most." He chuckled.

"Haha! Now I remember our poor Spaniard guy!"

Hetalia kindergarten had two male teachers. Arthur was one of them while another one was Antonio Fernandes Carriedo. It is commonly known that the Spaniard teacher was an outgoing and enthusiastic teacher with a good-looking face. He could always hear the children's mothers admiring for the Spaniard's tanned skin and his strong-built torso. Charming women has always been the Spaniard's forte. Only by giving them a shiny smile could Antonio win the ladies' heart already. Easy and fast.

Nevertheless, every staff in Hetalia kindergarten knew the truth very well, that Antonio Fernandes Carriedo was a total pedophile, plus a masochist.

One day when Arthur was taking his Commonwealth kids (Yes that was the class name. Not 'Eyebrows Empire', mind you. Though everyone called it like that.) out for an outdoor activity, he passed Antonio's classroom. Suddenly he heard a loud cry of a child coming out from the room. He instantly turned his head to see what was happening. He was stunned right away.

Antonio was hugging one of his students, Lovino Vargas. 'Hugging' was too modest to describe the Spaniard's action. Arthur would use the word 'grabbing'. What caught his sight was that Lovino was struggling desperately in Antonio's firm grip, swearing profanities which were too violent for a child like his age fiercely. Thankfully, he was swearing in Italian, which meant those dirty words wouldn't scar other students. Hopefully.

On the other hand, his brother, Feliciano Vargas, was sobbing helplessly as he tried to save Lovino out of Antonio's grab by pulling the Spaniard's arm with his total body strength. Arthur could see his face had already turned into bright red because of exhaustion of strength and long-time crying. Despite being hit quite severely by the Italian kid, Antonio showed no sign of pain. On the contrary, he glued his face to Lovino's, exclaiming something like 'Lovino you are so cute', 'Lovino you are my tomato' or 'Lovino I know you like me' unceasingly with his eyes shut in content, grinning like an idiot.

'_Well, that was sort of sickening._' Arthur thought as he tried not to frown in disgust at the scene in front of his eyes.

"Wow, Mr. Carriedo is smiling! He is so tough! Isn't that hurt?" Jack amazed as the entire Commonwealth class had crowded beside Arthur, desperate for a glimpse inside the classroom.

"No, Jack! I wondered if Mr. Carriedo is still okay. He even got bruises on his face!" Another student, Kaelin, expressed his worry as opposed to Jack's amazement. He was always a caring and kind child. However, this wasn't the right time for appreciation.

"Okay, lads. Mr. Carriedo was having a, um, one-on-one coaching lesson with Lovino. Let's not disturb them." Arthur quickly made up an explanation, forcing a smile to his class. "Get moving, kids! Or we will have less time on having fun!" Unwillingly, the kids finally began to move forth to the playground outside. Arthur felt relieved straightaway. He couldn't let the kids traumatised by such a violent footage after all.

As for the tragedy itself, Arthur decided to ignore it. This kind of incident had happened for countless times between Antonio and Lovino, and Arthur was sure that it would definitely happen again later on. He had no intention to interfere their ill-fated relationship.

Arthur shivered slightly at the retrospect of a certain perverted Spaniard and he decided to neglect him for time being. He continued to chat some other things like weather and news with Romulus. After having finished his tea, Arthur checked his watch for the last time. 8:10. Perfect timing. "Romulus, time to go."

"Okay." They stood up and paid for the teas before leaving the teashop. After that, they walked to school together. Then Arthur recalled they had a newcomer to welcome today.

"Alfred…" Arthur murmured the fresh colleague's name. The word seemed to have some kinds of magic that he was captivated by the name straightaway without realising it. Within a second, reminiscence had overwhelmed him like a boisterous flood.

He had heard this name before, but he couldn't remember when. Nevertheless, a strong sense of nostalgia struck him directly at heart, seizing every last of his breath in lungs. He could hear his heart pounding faster and faster. His body desired for this Alfred. Every nerve of his was screaming for the man, calling for that one and only name, the name that had been buried deep at the bottom of his heart long time ago.

_'__Alfred.'_

"Arthur? Are you alright?" Arthur snapped back to reality in a split second as Romulus gave him a worried look. He didn't even notice that he had been stopped walking moments ago. What was going on? He has never felt this strange and tense before, let alone to an unknown stranger.

_'__No. He isn't a stranger. You knew him, but you just forgot.'_

"I am okay, Romulus. Be quick or we will be late to school." Despite chaotic in thought, he squeezed a strained smile grudgingly. Romulus looked doubted but he didn't question further. They continued their walk as Arthur tried to comfort himself inwardly.

_'__Calm down, Arthur. He is just a freshman you are going to meet. Maybe it was the hot weather causing your brain went wild. You are not sick nor insane.' _After having reassured himself for numerous time, Arthur eventually composed himself and locked those weird thoughts away despite the fact that his body had already covered in sweat. Blame it to the scorching sun.

Little did he know the clock of fate had started to work again. After all, a single wheel does not move.


	3. Chapter 2: Crush

**A/N: Thx for all favs and fols! And Alfred will appear in this chapter! *yeah* I love motherlike Francis btw ;w;  
**

**+I forgot to put down the reference here 0口0 silly me**

**Emma=Belgium**

**Hong=Hong Kong**

**Heracles=Greece **

**I guess they are quite obvious though LOL**

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**Chapter 2: Crush**

"Good morning, Emma!" Once Arthur and Romulus had arrived at the Hetalia Kindergarten, Romulus greeted the receptionist, Emma, with a huge grin.

"Good morning, Mr. Romulus." The Belgium girl replied politely, and then she pulled down a memo sticken on her little notice board inside the counter, "Just to remind you that Dr. Jones has already arrived ten minutes ago. He is waiting for you in the principal room."

"Wow! Punctual, isn't he? Alright, I will go to meet him now. Thanks, Emma." Romulus exclaimed before he bid Arthur goodbye, "Have a nice day, Mr. Kirkland! Say hello for me to those Commonwealth kids!"

"I will. Goodbye, Romulus." Arthur replied as he and Romulus departed for different direction. He needed to go to the office to prepare some teaching materials first. The first lesson was story-telling section and he had been looking forward to it. He was a bookworm since he learnt how to read. He just couldn't wait to enjoy the fun of going through a story adventure with the children.

* * *

"Arthur, come over for a second!" Upon entering the office after his lesson with the kids, Arthur immediately heard his name being called. He was still immersing himself in the retrospect of the lesson just now. Rarely would that bunch of kids pay so much attention to the class without making noise, but today they did make no chaos and do nothing but just stared at him with those shiny sparkling eyes of theirs. Today Arthur read them a story about magic. The kids were all absorbed by the enchanting magic story. Even Hong, an oriental kid who usually had no expression on his face, widened his eyes slightly when it came to the climax part. Not to mention the fact that other active kids had already stood up and screamed. Jack had been shouting 'Beat that evil guy!' and kept punching into thin air. And then when Arthur declared 'continue in next chapter' and closed the book, their faces fell instantly. Arthur couldn't resist to chuckle inwardly. It was really fun to see the kids' undisguised reaction.

And now he just left them to Antonio for an outdoor activity. He didn't even have to bother to think what they were having for the lesson. 100% tomatoes planting lesson for sure. Antonio was a typical patriot.

Romulus was waving at him excitedly with a blond figure standing next to him. Before Arthur had approached them, he could already sense that the blond stranger shared the same aura with Romulus: sunshine, energetic, and idiotic. Look at those identical idiotic grins and you would agree with me. Arthur concluded inwardly.

"I have already introduced our new colleague to the other teachers but you've come back late so I will introduce him to you once more. Oh, Elizabeta, could you please come over here too?" Romulus waved at the Hungarian teacher who just stepped into the office. When Elizabeta had arrived, he started to speak again.

"Okay. Here I'm honoured to introduce Dr. Alfred F. Jones, our new colleague and the new physician of our school! Just for your reference, Alfred is a gifted. He is just 19 but he is already a college graduate!" After having finished introducing, Romulus gestured, "Alfred, this is Mr. Arthur Kirkland. He is in charge of the Commonwealth class, and our literature expert!"

"Wow! You sound awesome, dude! Nice to meet you!" Alfred exclaimed with his eyes widened in amazement. He stretched out his hand to Arthur. The Brit couldn't help but feel delighted at the American's compliment. He also stretched out his hand.

"Thank you, Dr. Jones. Nice to meet you." Arthur handshook with Alfred as he staring at the newcomer and observed. He had a head of wheaty blonde hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes. He was strong and his built was similar to Antonio, but a little bit taller than the Spaniard, which meant he was higher than the Brit by half a head. Damn, even this new physician was taller than him. He was once again the shortest male staff in Hetalia Kindergarten.

Arthur didn't notice that he had been staring at Alfred's face for moments, which was a little bit too long. "Mr. Kirkland?" Arthur woke up from his thought just when the American called out his name.

"Is anything okay?" Alfred was looking at him with a slightly worried frown. His blue eyes were staring straight at Arthur's green ones. At that moment, Arthur had a feeling that he was going to sink in those bottomless ponds of blue. So, once again, his brain decided to shut down itself.

"Mr. Kirkland? Arthur? Artie?" Arthur was slammed back to reality fiercely by the last obnoxious nickname. Damn, what was wrong with you, Arthur Kirkland?! You weren't some 17-year-old girls who bumped into your Prince Charming in the corridor accidentally in a high school! You were a goddamn 23-year-old kindergarten male teacher! Wake up!

"It's 'Mr. Kirkland', mind you, Dr. Jones." After having composed himself, Arthur retorted the American in front of him harshly, but couldn't control a faint pink hue surfaced at the pecks of his ears. He couldn't look at Alfred's face directly anymore, not when he was trying to gain back some dignities for himself, "Now, please excuse me."

"Wait!" Ignoring Alfred's call, Arthur stormed back to his seat without bothering to lift his head up. He knew how embarrassing he looked right now. After having settled, he picked up some papers to get himself started to prepare for the next lesson. No more Alfred F. Jones.

"Maybe Mr. Kirkland was a bit too busy on preparing the kids' things. Let's not bother him." Romulus's voice sounded behind him. Arthur swore that he could hear the amused tone in the Italian's voice. He just wanted to dig himself a hole and hide right now.

"And this beautiful lady is Miss Elizabeta Héderváry. She is our sports teacher!" The Hungarian lady smiled politely as she handshook with the new physician.

"Alright, lady and gentleman, I had things to do so just continue to enjoy yourselves! But don't forget you have lessons to teach, Elizabeta! And Alfred you can find any teachers here to show you the medical room. They know the school very well and they are glad to help you! So, excuse me for the time being!" Romulus waved at the staffs before he left.

"So…May I ask you a, um, personal question, Dr. Jones?" Elizabeta continued to chat with Alfred. Her polite smile had already turned into a not-too-obvious mischievous grin.

"Just Alfred is okay. And of course you may ask your question, Miss Héderváry." Alfred answered with a smile.

"So…Do you have a girlfriend?"

Arthur nearly dropped his pen on the floor upon hearing the Hungarian's question. He should've seen that coming. He knew this would happen, because he had been asked the same question when he was in Alfred's state as a newcomer of the kindergarten. He couldn't help but started to concentrate on the conversation between the American and the Hungarian. He wasn't eavesdropping, mind you. He was just trying to know more about his new colleague so as to facilitate his work. YES.

"No. I don't have a girlfriend." Alfred didn't show any sign of embarrassment. He just answered the question swiftly, keeping his smiling face.

"Then, a boyfriend?" Elizabeta's grin grew wider. It could be classified as a smirk already, seeing that a devilish aura was emitting from her smile.

"Neither." Once again, Alfred answered decently, but his face was slightly growing pink.

"Finally, a crush?"

"Well…yes." Alfred scratched his head with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Wow~I had assumed that you are dating someone, Alfred! You have a handsome face and a charming personality after all. I guessed some girls had asked you to be their boyfriend, am I right?" Elizabeta marveled with her eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Yes, but I could only reject their love, because I had my love settled on someone else already." Alfred answered with a fond smile at the thought of his love. He slightly directed his sight to a certain Brit who was now having an intense fight internally.

He had a crush?! Really?! Arthur could feel his heart slightly dampened as disappointment was swelling up inside his body. No, he wasn't disheartened. Not at all.

"Arthur, can I call you Arthur? 'Mr. Kirkland' sounds a bit awkward to me." Arthur looked up in a fluster at the voice of a certain American. Alfred was couching down in front of his desk with his hands put on the table and his head placed on the back of his hands. His eyes were brimming with excitement and enthusiasm. They were practically shining. Arthur swore he could even see stars in those ponds.

"Y-Yes. You can call me Arthur, but no Artie." Arthur stuttered. He knew he was flushing. That puppy pose and face were just irresistible.

"Great! And one more thing," Alfred grinned brightly, "Can you show me where the medical room is? You know I am quite new to here…" He said shyly.

"Of course. Wait a second." Arthur opened his drawer and took out a paper, "This is the school map. You can study the school building on your own, but I will show you the medical room first. It is located on the first floor." He pointed the room location on the map.

"Thank you, Arthur."

* * *

"So here it is." Arthur opened the room door, revealing a warm-coloured room with a few beds, cabinets, and a working desk inside. "Romulus said he didn't like a complete white medical room – it would be too scary for children. We used to have a physician, Dr. Heracles Karpusi, but he had gone back to Greece. Therefore, till now we just handled the children's injures on our own and found other teachers to help when needed. And one more thing to remind you is that the kids here are quite…active and energetic. They always get themselves hurt. Your job won't be an easy one." His mind conjured up a series of images of the accidents happened before. They weren't quite pleasant to think of.

"Got that." Alfred sat down on the chair and span. Arthur tried not to scowl at the American's childish act.

"I have already showed you the room. I will take my leave now." Arthur said as he walked to the door.

"Wait, Arthur!" The Brit turned back to see Alfred smiling gently at him, "If you're free now, can you please stay here with me for a few minutes more? I want to know more about this school and stuff." And you. Though he didn't speak out.

"…Well, I guess it's okay for me." After being silent for a second, Arthur replied and he sat on the nearest bed. He truly had time, and somehow he didn't want to reject Alfred's offer too.

"Thank you." Alfred moved along with the chair he was sitting on. He was now facing the Brit with their sights on equal height.

"This is a nice school, isn't it? All the staffs are being nice to me and I love how this medical room was decorated." Alfred smiled softly as he was looking around the room, "And here's a fluffy teddy bear." He picked up the toy next to him.

"Yes, Romulus cares for the kids so much. He loves them." Arthur answered gently as he patted the teddy bear's head lightly.

"Do you like children?"Alfred asked.

"Yes, I like them. I love to see them smile and run around…they're just adorable." Arthur smiled fondly at the thought of his Commonwealth class. Indeed they always gave him all kinds of troubles, but he just can't reprimand them.

The blonds were both feeling contented and comfortable in the quiet but still relaxing atmosphere. This was strange actually, as they had just met twenty minutes ago. However, they were acting like the oldest friends right now. They needed not find themselves a topic to start a conversation, nor find a place to hang out. What they needed was just being next to each other. They were just simply Alfred and Arthur. No pretense, no disguise.

Arthur closed his eyes so as to completely immerse himself in this silent moment with warm breeze softly brushing his skin. His heart was beating steadily. Everything was so peaceful that burdens and tribulations were all forgotten behind. Arthur could feel a small curve was lingering on his lips, but he was too lazy to conceal it. Never had he laid down his guard without restraint, not even to Francis. However, at this moment, he chose to be defenceless willingly without any particular reason.

While Arthur was enjoying himself in quietness, he didn't realise that a pair of azure eyes had been fixing on him the whole time. Alfred stared at the smiling Brit as he took the his hand in his and stroked it tenderly with his thumb, eyes gazing at his beloved one without distracted away. That soft smile when he talked about children, that adorable blush when he felt embarrassed, that flustered stutter when he was caught off guard...all of these small details were just remained the same like back then. He didn't even change a bit.

He was still his Arthur, still the Queen he had entirely devoted his loyalty and soul to. He had missed him for such a long time. Never was he going to let go of him again.

"Riiiiiing!" Suddenly the school bell rang loudly, implying that lessons had ended. Arthur was slapped back to reality before jumping off the bed with his face burning fiercely. How come he had lost his mind again? Maybe he was ill and he should go and see a doctor, but definitely not Alfred F. Jones.

"I-I got to go now. I have a lesson to teach." Without a further word, he stormed out in a split second, not dare to stay in the medical room for one more second.

Alfred was first stunned by the Brit's action. Then he was aware of the fact that Arthur was no longer in the room.

"Damn it…"He sighed as he let himself fall on the bed which Arthur just sat on. He was so close…

Suddenly he felt something was vibrating beneath him. He got up and saw a cell phone lies on the bed.

'Maybe this was Arthur's phone.' He looked at the screen to check who was calling.

**[Frog]**

Could it be…?

"Hello?" Alfred answered the phone.

"Arthur! Mon lapin, you've left your lunchbox at home! Did you not see my memo sticken on the fridge? Never mind, I would just drop by to give you a special delivery on my way to the studio. You are such a careless child-"

"Francis, it's me. Alfred F. Jones."

"…Pardon?"

"This is Alfred F. Jones speaking. Not Arthur, Francis."

"What…?! How come you have Arthur's phone?"

"I am at his working place. I am the kindergarten's new physician."

"Wait, if you are here, that means…"

"Yes," Alfred answered seriously, no longer staying frivolous, "We were attacked, and Yao died in the incident."

"Oh my God…" Alfred could hear the Frenchman's deep inhalation.

"We aren't safe. Ivan had started his move."


	4. Chapter 3: Kiss

**A/N: I forgot that Alfred should be addressed as "Doctor" instead of "Mister" _(:3JZ)_ So I do the editing and also make other changes in the last chapter. Sorry for the mistake D: My fault**

**Parapo: THX! It's a huge encouragement to me ;w; Especially after spending so much time on dictionary and google TwT**

**This chapter is VERY exhausting because it contains many descriptions on action _(:3JZ)_ Just hope you find it enjoyable! Please leave a review if you love this story :)! Love you all XXX**

**+Happy Birthday America!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Kiss**

"And then the prince wielded his sword and gave the evil witch his final fatal strike with all his strength. The witch screamed in pain and turned into ashes. The prince came close to the sleeping beauty. He bent down and placed his lips on-"

"Arthur!" Arthur nearly jumped at the blatant call. He was reading a fairytale to his class when the prince had finally found his love. He hated being interrupted at the middle of the story, especially when it came to climax. Unforgivable act. He crossed his arms and stood up, sending the ill-mannered intruder a fierce and menacing glare that could even pierce a hole on his body.

"What's the matter, Dr. Jones? I hope it's something urgent enough to stop the prince from kissing his princess. Moreover, it's 'Mr. Kirkland' in front of the kids." He tried to make his tone as calm as possible, though he had already swearing furiously inside. If profanity was a death spell, the American doctor had already been cursed to death for thousands time.

"Wow, don't stare at me like you are going to jump on me and murder me, dude! I just come here to return your phone to its owner. What a pleasant welcome." The intruder wasn't defeated by Arthur's biting response at all. Instead, he waved at the kids, grinning brightly, "Hey, little dudes!"

"Thank you for your help, Dr. Jones. Now, you can just give me back my phone and take your leave. Some 'little dudes' may get hurt while you are shirking your work." Arthur responded coldly, ignoring the fact that Alfred had already bent down and started chatting with some kids in the class.

"Alright, alright. You left it in the medical room." Alfred handed the phone to Arthur with a friendly smile. Arthur blushed involuntarily at the thought of what happened in the medical room. He fetched his phone back hastily without looking at Alfred directly and muttered, "Thank you."

"You are welcome." The American smiled, and then he exclaimed to the class, "Kids, it's nice to meet you all, but I hope I won't be seeing you in my place!" He winked playfully, "Enjoy your lesson!" He waved at the children then left.

After Alfred had made his departure, the classroom burst into a chaos immediately. The children were all gossiping about the white-coated mysterious stranger with excitement.

"Who is he?" Raj, an Indian kid asked. The classroom instantly fell silent as all kids had turned their faces to their British teacher simultaneously within a second. They all wore the same sparkling eyes belonged to cravings for knowledge. The Brit was feeling a little bit arduous to fight against the children's loveliness attack. It shot right at the bull's eye.

"He's Dr. Jones, the new physician of the school." He told the kids truth. Upon hearing their teacher's answer, the kids returned to their furious gossips once again.

"He is so handsome…" Michelle, a girl from Seychelles, amazed with her face brimming with adoration. Arthur suddenly had a sinister feeling about this.

"Alright, lads, you may find Dr. Jones in the recess to know more about him. Now, let's continue with our story." He forced a smile. Eventually, he succeeded to calm the kids down and continue with the remaining part of the story.

The bell rang again and the lesson came to an end, also implying that the lunchtime had started. Arthur took his phone out to check whether he had missed any calls. He found an unread message from Francis.

**[Mon lapin, you had left your lunchbox at home /_\! Anyway, I will come at 12 and give it to you on my way to studio =3=. Don't be so careless again! See you at reception. Love you, Francis, XOXO]**

Arthur frowned at the emojis and 'XOXO'. Disgusting Frenchman as usual. He went downstairs just to see Francis standing next to the counter with the new doctor.

He was talking to Alfred. However, his face was rarely serious, not the flirty one that he usually wore. A small scowl could be spotted on the Frenchman's face. Their voices were low that Arthur couldn't hear what they said. Did Francis know Alfred?

Minutes later Alfred left. Francis turned his head before he noticed Arthur's presence. His expression immediately changed back to a frivolous one.

"Arthur, you had come!" The Frenchman greeted the Brit cheerfully with a huge grin like nothing had happened.

"You know Alfred?" Arthur asked, not able to restrain his curiosity.

"Oh! That young man. We just met and chatted for a minute." Francis answered swiftly. Lie. Arthur deduced inwardly. Francis was good at disguising but he just couldn't fool Arthur. They had been living together for 23 years for God's sake.

However, Arthur wasn't going to force the Frenchman to confess. He knew Francis hid it with a purpose. He wouldn't admit the truth anyway. "Okay. Where is my lunchbox?"

"Here it is." Francis handed him the box. "By the way, is anything alright? No suspicious people came near you?" He suddenly asked with a slight worry written on his face.

"What's wrong…? No, nothing suspicious had happened. The only 'accident' was Alfred's arrival." He answered honestly, although he didn't understand why the Frenchman worried about his personal safety all of a sudden. He could see Francis relieved in an instant upon hearing his reply.

"Great. However, if you notice anything wrong, you have to tell me." The Frenchman warned, and then his expression softened and changed into a mischievous one, "Just asking, do you find Alfred attractive?" He sent the Brit with a wicked smirk.

"What…?! It's none of your business, frog!" Arthur was caught off guard at the Frenchman's question. After having collected himself, he retorted him immediately, though the vague crimson on his face had weakened his persuasiveness.

"Really?" The amused Frenchman raised his eyebrows.

"Yes!"

"Honhonhon~" Best entertainment ever to poke fun at the Brit. "Enjoy your day! Au revoir!" He headed to the entrance and waved.

"Get your arse of this place quickly, Frog." British unique farewell style. Francis couldn't restrain himself from smiling. All in all, he was glad to see Arthur safe and sound.

And then he realised something.

Oh mon dieu, his child was going to be taken by an Américain.

* * *

The lesson after lunch had been proven to be an exhausting one. 'My Favourite Toy' activity was held in the afternoon lesson, requiring the kids to bring their favourite toy to school and present it in front of the class. In order to give some encouragement to the kids, Arthur was the first to introduce his toy. It was a miniature London bus. However, truth be told, it was his second favourite toy. His favourite companion of all time was Mr. Unicorn. Like it literally told, it was a plush stuffed unicorn.

He could still remember when he was 3, he had wanted to have a stuffed unicorn so bad. However, he and Francis couldn't afford to buy it. Then the French teen decided to replicate one himself for his British little brother as a Christmas present. It had been the best Christmas present that Arthur had received of all time. The unicorn was still lying peacefully on his bed at home. Nevertheless, it was just too embarrassing to show your class a toy unicorn when you were a 23-years-old male teacher. So, he made another choice.

After having introduced his toy, the kid started to introduce theirs one by one. Michelle presented her small doll house, Kaelin presented his LEGO, and Peter presented his toy ship and etcetera. Everything went smoothly.

Until Hong presented his firecracker.

"Back in my home, people burn firecracker to celebrate some special days. I love playing with it too. It's my favourite toy." Hong emotionlessly explained with a REAL firecracker in his hand.

Upon seeing Hong's choice, Arthur couldn't help but feel a little bit worried. He knew it was explosive and dangerous when lighted. He just hoped Hong wouldn't perform his homeland's traditional ritual in front of the class.

However, the kids had a totally contrary reaction against Arthur's. They breathed in excitement as it was their first time to have a close look of the oriental celebration device.

"Can we see how it burns?" Jack shouted. Arthur immediately stood up in case the situation headed to a disaster.

"Okay." Hong tucked his hand into his jacket's pocket and then took out a thing.

It was a bloody matchbox.

"Hong," Arthur approached the black-haired lad after he recognised what the hell the kid was holding. If he didn't stop the kid now, a fire was what would happen next. He couldn't let his class get injured, or harmed by something dangerous. He placed his hand on Hong's which was holding the matchbox to ensure that the kid wouldn't use it to do anything, "You said it was used on special days, right?" Hong nodded.

"Then you shouldn't light it here. You know, if you use it when it shouldn't be used, it will lose its power of scaring off evil spirit. You can light it in Lunar New Year or in other special events, but not now, okay?" Arthur stared straight at the child's black eyes, trying to convince him to give up on committing arson in the kindergarten.

Fortunately, Hong was an understanding child. "Alright." He mumbled with apparent disappointment in his tone.

"I know you're a smart kid." Arthur instantly felt relieved and smiled to the child, "And for one more thing, could you lend me the firecracker and the matchbox? I want to have a closer look at it. I would give it back to you tomorrow. I think they're quite interesting to study at." He couldn't just allow the kid to hang around with such dangerous weapons. Otherwise, he wouldn't call himself a 'teacher'.

"Here they are." Hong handed them to the Brit. "But you have to give me back tomorrow." He slightly pouted.

"I promise." Not until he had phoned Hong's parents. He would call them tonight. "Now go back to your seat and listen to your classmates' presentation, okay?"

"Okay." After having escorted Hong back to his seat and called out another child to present, Arthur went back to his seat. Only when he settled everything could he felt his body had been covered in a cold sweat.

He just successfully solved an unintentional terrorist attack. Thanks God.

* * *

"Arthur? You leave now too?" After having packed his belongings and left the office, he met Alfred at the entrance of the school. It had already been evening with the sun sinking slowly back to the horizon. They sky was dyed with scarlet and purple. The shadows under the blonds' feet had been lengthened by the lingering sunset.

"Yes." Arthur answered. He felt sort of surprised at the fact that he kept bumping into the American today. How come this would happen?

"Where do you live?"

"I live in the apartment next to the park."

"Wow! That's where I live too!"

"Really?!" Arthur was truly shocked. Too much coincidence was no longer coincidence. He suddenly remembered what Francis had warned him today. Suspicious people. Well, he discovered one right here.

"We have so much things in common, don't we?" The American laughed, "Let's go home together!"

"Don't make it sound like I am living in the same flat with you, you git." Arthur scowled at the American's declaration. Nevertheless, he started to walk along with Alfred. He had a home to return after all.

"Don't be so grumpy, old man." Arthur felt his temple throbbed. Did this fucking American just call him 'old'?

"You stupid, insufferable wanker! I am just 4 years older than you, don't you dare to call me-"

"Shhh!" Alfred suddenly hissed, stepping forth and used his body to block the Brit's.

"What?!" Arthur asked exasperatedly.

"Arthur, we're surrounded." Alfred whispered quietly but solemnly. Knowing something was going wrong, Arthur peeked over the American just to see ten or more people were approaching them. Their faces were all deadly pale and blank with different weapons being held in their hands. Arrows, swords, daggers, pistols…However, they weren't of any normal steel weapons, but were all transparent and emitting black smokes.

"What the hell are they? They don't look like humans at all." Arthur mumbled to Alfred anxiously, unconsciously grasping Alfred's clothes tight. He had never faced such a horrid scene before, not even when he was engaging in a gang fight. After all, his rivals were lively humans back then. Thank you.

"They are the Death, transformed by human corpses, creatures of the Black Sorcery, and slaves of dark wizard. My guess is that they are sent by Ivan Braginski. Explain to you later." Alfred answered hastily, putting his hand in front of the Brit protectively. Arthur is of the utmost importance. He needed to protect his Queen at all cost.

"Then why didn't that Ivan Braginski give his soldiers more advanced weapons? Their weapons were so…crude." Arthur couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked the American despite feeling terrified.

"Because we aren't some normal humans that can be killed by a gun. The forms of weapon don't matter." Alfred frowned and added quite reluctantly, like he was trying to hide something from the Brit, "We are kind of…immortal. Only pure magic can send us to death."

"What?!" The Brit was in utter shock at the American's words, "Immortal?!"

"Explain to you later." Alfred replied concisely. After all, it wasn't the time for detailed explanation. "What we need to do now is staying alive. That's all."

"Okay. Do they have the same weak points as humans?" Arthur understood that they were in an emergency right now. He composed himself and his brain started to sketch out a plan.

"Physically yes, but they can't feel pain so they won't stop attacking no matter how severe their injuries are. See their airy weapons? Don't be hit by them and you are safe. There's only one way to exterminate them completely, but…" He paused and glanced at the Brit he cared so much behind him, his expression was a determinate one, "We will just retreat today."

"Why?"

"Later. I will distract them to the left and then you just run off to the right. Got that?" Although he didn't have much confidence in beating up such a huge amount of dead warriors, he had to ensure Arthur's safety, even if it cost his life. He had failed to do so last time. Not that he was going to repeat his mistake again.

However, Arthur made another decision.

"No. There's no way I am abandoning you and fleeing away alone. I am not a coward, mind you." Arthur opened his briefcase while stating his decision firmly. He remembered he put them here.

"But Arthur-"

"Now, use it wisely, Hero." Two things had suddenly popped up in front of the American's eyes before he could stress his point again. Alfred felt his jaw dropped at the sight of the Brit's surprising gifts.

A firecracker and a matchbox.

"Where the hell did you get those things? They're explosive!" He was totally shocked. A firecracker in a kindergarten teacher's briefcase. Seriously?

"Later. Now light it and throw it to those dead men!" Their enemies had already narrowed their surround and gotten closer when they were debating just now. Alfred bit his lips as he ignited a match and then put it under the fuse. Before the fuse was burnt out, he threw the firecracker as far as he could towards the dead warriors.

"Now run!" Alfred shouted to the Brit before the blonds turned around and ran as fast as they could. They could hear explosion behind them. Arthur turned his head just to see several dead men were hit at the legs by the firecracker, causing them tentatively immobile. However, a number of stubborn lively corpses were still chasing after them tightly.

The human cockroaches. Arthur concluded. He was quite proud of himself of maintaining such a rational thinking despite the fact that he was under a desperate escape. After all, his adversity quotient was immensely trained by the Commonwealth kids every day.

Suddenly he spotted that one of the 'cockroaches' behind was holding up his pistol. His aim was...Alfred.

"Watch out!" He threw himself at the American out of instinct. Immediately he felt an extreme pain exploded at his back. His skin burnt and his limbs went numb slowly. Gradually He felt so sleepy and tired…

"Arthur!" Alfred got up from the ground before the Brit fell feebly on him. His eyes was shut tightly with his body covered in cold sweat. His breath was very weak. Alfred could feel the Brit's body on him was getting heavier and heavier. He spotted that a small bullet embed itself deep at the Brit's back. The King immediately hugged his Queen close with his arms supporting his body. He could feel Arthur was getting colder.

There was only one way out. He had to settle this immediately or Arthur would die in a minute. Alfred reinforced his determination internally. He fully understood what he had to do now. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn't allow the tragedy to reappear. He couldn't afford to lose his Queen again.

"I hoped this could remedy what happened in the morning." With a soft whisper, he bent down and kissed the Brit on lips gently. The moment their lips touched, rays of blue were emitted from the royal's bodies. They blended together and formed a shape of spade. All the dead warriors were exposed to the bright light right away and within a second, their bodies were burnt down to ashes with nothing left before they could scream out to beg for mercy.

The lights were whipped out straightaway the moment the American broke his kiss. Nightfall had once again fallen upon them. The Brit in his arms no longer sweat in pain. Instead, he had fallen asleep, snoring peacefully. His expression returned to calm from painful. The wound at his back was no longer to be seen.

The American held his love close and exhaled in relief. He placed a light kiss on his Queen's forehead before he stood up and carried the sleeping beauty in a bridal style.

He needed the Diamonds' aid right now.


	5. Chapter 4: Dream

**A/N: Once again thx for your support to this story! It makes me work faster and faster XD**

**saorikazawa: Thank you! Actually it was just a crazy idea that popped up in my mind one day. I love both cardverse AU and mo****dern AU so I just thought: What if the two AUs mixed together? And thus, this story is made :) Killing two birds with one stone :-D**

**vc103221: Haha now you are giving me direction of this story a_a Actually I didn't expect a comment of 'suspenseful' :P but anyway, I am glad that you find cardverse fascinating! I just love the idea of Alfred being the king and Arthur being the queen B-)**

**This chapter just contained three blonds in it lol but I am quite enjoying in writting it cause finally I can write more about Al and Art personal feelings ;w; Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Dream**

_"Don't cry, Arthur. I'm always here."_

_Who are you…?_

_"Just someone who cares about you."_

_Stop kidding me…No one ever cares about me…I don't deserve to be loved._

_"Not when you have already captured my soul."_

_You must have mistaken me as someone else…I am just nothing. I am an orphan. I have no family nor friend, just myself alone._

_"You are not alone and you are not just nothing, Arthur. You are the world to me, the one and only. Every time you raise your head, you will find my world. A world where Arthur Kirkland is staring at the same sky with me."_

_Really?_

_"Yes. Just remember the Hero is always by your side, my lad."_

Arthur opened his eyes slowly. He had a dream just now. A dream where he was loved, he was cared. It was a memory long, long time ago. When he was a child, he was always bullied by the others because of his identity of orphan. However, he was a tough gentleman so he wouldn't allow his weaknesses to be shown outwardly. Instead, he would hide himself away deep in a corner of the park, bury his head into his knees and secretly start sobbing. However, there was someone who could always find him and whip his tears away. He would whisper words of comfort and tell him to be strong. He was always there when needed.

An imaginary friend, Arthur chuckled bitterly at the innocence of his younger self. He still didn't know the man's real identity by now. He just called himself 'Hero'.

The Hero of Arthur Kirkland.

"Arthur, have you woken up?" A call had cut Arthur's deep thought. He looked over to the source of voice just to see his long-term roommate, who was wearing a pink apron with a heart printed at the front and holding a spatula in his hand, appeared at his bedroom door. "Today's breakfast is pancakes! Come down quickly! And wake the other one!"

"'The other one'?" Not waiting for Arthur's response, Francis had already rushed back to downstairs, murmuring something like 'pancakes are going to burn' and leaving the Brit in confuse. Arthur exhaled helplessly before he got up from the bed. Then the next moment he looked to the other side of the bed, he discovered a very, very shocking fact.

Mr. Unicorn had turned into a sleeping and drooling Alfred F. Jones.

His favourite toy, his loyal sleeping companion had turned into an American man.

A. Bloody. Man.

Arthur immediately kicked the American down from his bed, flinching back and gripping the blanket tight in front of his chest with his face flushing furiously. He stared at the man who was lying beside him a moment ago and was now on the floor with horror filled his widened eyes. His lips were quivering that he couldn't even form a word from his mouth. 'Y-You-"

"…Oh…Good morning, Arthur…" Despite Arthur's extremely shocked reaction, Alfred, whose face was now in touched with the wooden floor due to the Brit's violent treatment, lazily turned his body back to the front and pulled the blanket close, eyelids half opened tiredly, "Just one more minute…" Not able to finish his sentence, his brain was once again commanded to return to sleepiness. Slowly he shut his eyes once again regardless the fact that he was lying on a hard floor. He just couldn't resist his body instinct.

However, the other one in the room didn't allow him to enjoy his peaceful little nap.

The American jolted up in pain when a foot had trampled on his stomach brutally. "Dude, what's wrong with you?!"

"Why. The. Hell. Are. You. On. My. Bed." The Brit glared at his unexpected bed mate venomously. He had composed himself from shock, now it was the time for some urgent issues. He didn't remove his foot from the American. Instead, he stepped deeper and crushed the other's internal organs mercilessly.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Alfred wailed in pain before answering the Brit, "Okay, I invited you to have a drink after work last night and you said yes. And then you were drunken so I escorted you home. And then Francis, your self-proclaimed guardian, invited me to stay and sleep at your bedroom just in case you vomit all over yourself! Are you satisfied now, you sadist?! Now take your feet off me!" Upon hearing the American painful and most likely frank confession, Arthur reluctantly moved his foot away, but he wasn't going to set the American free that easily. He took a step onto the floor and rode on the blanket-wrapped American, preventing him from escaping from the unfinished interrogation.

"Question number two, where did you hide my…unicorn?" He really didn't want to admit that he was looking for a stuffed animal. However, he needed to. He had to save his magical companion from the obnoxious American. This was the utmost emergency.

"You mean that pink stuffed unicorn? Well, Since there was no space on the bed, I just put it on the chair in front of your desk. See?" Arthur took a glance at the chair mentioned. His Mr. Unicorn was sitting there peacefully. Alfred had been telling the truth.

"At least you didn't throw it away." He muttered curtly before getting up from Alfred. He was drunken last night…? How come he didn't remember any of it...

He took a quick glimpse of himself in the mirror. No hickeys, no bruises. He was still wearing his pyjamas, which meant he hadn't been raped when he was unconscious last night. Thanks God.

Wait.

Just when did he change his clothes?

He instantly snapped his head to the American who had just got up from the floor and was now rubbing his stomach sorely. He wasn't wearing his working outfit too. Instead, he was wearing a fit pyjamas like him. Suspicious. Very suspicious.

"Where did you get those pyjamas? And who changed my clothes?" He skeptically inquired.

"For the first question, it was Francis. He just took it out from one of his many wardrobes like magic. For the next question, it was also Francis. By the way, you were so stinky with alcohol scent on your clothes!" The former part was true while the latter part was a lie. The truth was that he was the one who changed Arthur's clothes. However, in order to defend his personal safety and the Brit's dignity, he decided to tell a white lie.

Arthur glared at the intruder of his bedroom who was wearing an innocent face for a few seconds. He tried to recall any trace of what happened last night, but he could remember nothing after the retrospect of bumping into Alfred at the school entrance. Considering that he didn't suffer any loss either physically or mentally, he decided to just let go of it. Maybe he should really thank Alfred for sending him home...

"Dude, you know what? You were so clingy when sleeping that you kept climbing on me last night! Jeez, I couldn't even turn my body and sleep in a more comfortable position because your grip was so damn tight! But that was kind of endearing of you-"

He changed his mind

"Alfred F. Jones."

"What?"

"Get the fuck out of my bedroom."

Few minutes later, Francis found a severely injured American leaning over the stair with no sign of life. With a helpless sigh, the Frenchman just continued with his pancakes plating, pretending that he didn't witness a murder scene just now.

After all, he was an open-minded parent that he wouldn't intervene his child's love issue. In addition, he was relieved that he didn't need to, or he was sure that the next victim of Arthur the Executioner would be himself.

* * *

"Did he remember anything?" The Frenchman asked while he was applying ointment on Alfred's wounds. The American whined in pain and answered, "No. I told him that he was drunken last night so I just escorted him home."

"At least he isn't traumatised." Francis looked up to the second floor. He could faintly hear water sound coming out from the bathroom. That was good. In that case, he didn't need to worry that the conversation between them would be heard by the person involved.

"I didn't expect that Ivan would come to us that fast. We just met for a day. I guess he want to test the water by sending the Death. I didn't mean to absorb energies from Arthur. I knew it would exhaust him." Alfred said regretfully as he clenched his fist tightly. What he could do to remedy was just erasing the horrible incident from Arthur's memory so as to prevent him from getting involved in the war between him and the other King.

Arthur had sacrificed himself in order to save him from being shot. He chuckled bitterly. What a failed king he was that he couldn't even protect his love, his Queen.

"Don't take all the blames on yourself, Alfred. You did your best." Francis patted Alfred on shoulder, comforting the depressed American. The Frenchman had been watching the Spades' royal grown since they were kids. He could always see determination and persistence on the other King's face when it came to his Queen's issues and the other way round. They were childish but mature, dishonest but considerate. That was why they could form the strongest bond.

"But still," Alfred buried his head in his arms on the table like a dejected child, mumbling quietly, "I don't want him to get harmed. I just want him to be safe and live his second life in peace, like normal people. One is enough for bearing the burdens of the past."

"Alfred…" Before Francis could say anything to ease the American's depression, he spotted that Arthur was walking downstairs with his hand holding a towel to dry his hair.

"Arthur! Come and have your breakfast!" He immediately waved at the Brit and greeted him, secretly reminding the American to cheer up for now. All in all, they had a mask to put on, a royal to guard.

* * *

"Your pancakes taste worse, Frog." The three blonds sat together at the dining table. Arthur commented indifferently as he sipped a cup of tea, best depressant after the morning horror.

"This is because you missed the prime time of tasting it, mon lapin." Francis answered calmly while continuing to read the newspaper, totally unaffected by the Brit's negative judgment. "You are going to be late if you don't eat faster, Arthur. Look at Alfred, he had already finished his second plate."

"Breakfast is meant to enjoy leisurely, and I am totally aware of the time. Thank you." Arthur stole a glance at the American next to him. He was a hurricane when it came to food that he would sweep all the things on the plate to his mouth. He seriously suspected that the American's stomach was a bottomless abyss.

"I think it tastes good, Arwur." Alfred said to the Brit with his mouth full. Arthur instantly scowled at the indecent table manner of the American.

"Finish your food before you talk, you uncivilised git." He looked up to the clock after scolding the American, "Alfred, if you don't finish your sixth pancake and dress up in five minute, we are going to be late to school."

"Alright, alright." The American swallowed the remaining pancake before getting up, "Francis, where is my clothes?"

"On the sofa right there. I had helped you wash it, Alfred." The Frenchman replied and smiled friendly.

"Thanks!" Without a further thought, Alfred took off his pyjamas, ignoring the fact that there were a Brit and a French in the living room together with him.

"Don't change your clothes here!" Arthur shouted to the American embarrassingly. His face went bright red at the sight of the half-naked man. Did this guy aware of the fact that he was in others' house?! Though he didn't want to admit that his tanned muscles did look se- good.

"Jeez, you are so troublesome, old man." Before Arthur could give the American a proper lecture, Alfred had already taken his clothes to the bathroom and closed the door. Arthur exhaled helplessly and fell back to his seat just to see Francis snickering.

"What?" He glared at the Frenchman opposite.

"Nothing. I just think Alfred's torso looks quite...tasty." Francis smirked and replied.

"Don't you dare to lay a finger on him, you pervert." Arthur muttered murderously. It just didn't feel right to have others touched Alfred. It was like his heart was stabbed by a small sting, but he couldn't figure out why he got that feeling.

"You sound like a protective boyfriend, mon lapin."Francis precisely summed up. The Brit's face was covered by a shade of pink in a split second at the Frenchman's comment.

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. Stop denying the truth."

"That's not-"

"Arthur, I am done! Now let's go!" Before Arthur could defend for himself, another voice had intruded his bickering with the Frenchman. Alfred had come out from the bathroom with his working outfit on and his hair combed. Arthur didn't forget to send another glare to Francis before he stood up and walked to the front door together with Alfred.

"Enjoy your date with your boyfriend, Arthur!" Francis called from behind teasingly.

"Like I said, he's not my boyfriend!" Arthur turned back and sent the Frenchman a middle finger while a deep blush on the American's face had gone unnoticed by the furious Brit.

"Fine, fine." Francis watched the other two blonds left before he chuckled to himself softly.

"Arthur, you know what? You are the luckiest man in the world."

* * *

Walking with Alfred was awkward after the incident in the morning. Arthur didn't really want to look at the American's face. He just kept his head low and stared at the road below. He had no idea on what he could chat with Alfred. He just couldn't find an appropriate adjective to describe their relationship. Friends...? Colleagues...?

"Arthur," Arthur turned his head to the American next to him albeit reluctance upon hearing his call. Alfred was smiling shyly, "Would you like to, like, have lunch together today?"

"…I am okay with that, but I had already brought my lunchbox…" Arthur honestly answered. Although deep in his heart, he didn't want to reject the American's invitation despite their subtle relationship.

"That's okay. I got a lunchbox from Francis too." Arthur was slightly appalled at Alfred's words. Since when did the relationship between the Frenchman and the American become so good? According to his knowledge, Francis hadn't prepared any lunchbox for anyone but him until now. He deeply doubted the Frenchman's intention.

"…Don't be bribed by Francis so easily. He is a pervert." Arthur squeezed out a grudging reminder. His heart twitched at the thought of Alfred displaying affection to other people. The Brit unconsciously pursed his lips up. It just felt…so wrong.

Never did Arthur know that while he was having his internal struggle, the American was going through one as well, but its nature was totally different from the Brit's.

If Alfred didn't possess enough amount of patience and endurance to restrain himself, he would just lift Arthur up and declare to the whole world that this was his love proudly, because Arthur was so damn adorable when he was jealous of the others because of him.

"I will take that advice, Arthur." Despite strong desire for displaying public affection, Alfred just assured his love with words instead, "You don't need to worry about it. I will not be taken by Francis." He winked mischievously.

"I am not worrying about you, mind you. I just don't want to be forced to witness some kinds of sexual harassment later on." Though the Brit was denying verbally, the faint smile on his face didn't go unnoticed in someone's eyes.

"Yes, yes..." Alfred replied gently with a soft smile on his face. At this moment, he just wanted to enjoy being a mere fool in love. It was a dream that he had always been dreaming of. A dream where Alfred F. Jones and Arthur Kirkland would walk to their working place together. A dream where he would wake up with Arthur sleeping next to him in a small bed that could barely fit them in. A dream where he would laugh at the Brit's wrinkle when they had aged and grown old...

How luxurious his dream was.


	6. Chapter 5: Inquiry

**A/N: Hey guys! New chapter delivered! Anime Koujaku AHHHHH  
**

**vc103221: Well, something bad is definitely going to happen later on (We got Ivan here, didn't we? *wink*) and YES I really love writing USUK lovelove moments! They are so cute!**

**Sora Resi: Thx for loving this crazy story :D! Well, I can't see where it goes too _(:3JZ)_ but in USUK we trust!**

**Btw one of my favourite characters (?) is going to appear next chapter :D! (Hope so) And Lin is Taiwan (her first name is Mei) :) ENJOY!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Inquiry**

Tuesday was usually Arthur favourite day among his working days. He didn't have lesson in the first period, which meant he could steal some time to continue his precious sleep or his unfinished novel adventure.

However, he didn't have chance to enjoy his privilege today.

For the third time in last 20 minutes passed, Arthur could sense that he was intensely gazed by his Hungarian colleague at a 4-office-desk distance. Arthur tried to occupy himself by keeping his head low and focusing on drafting plan for the lesson afterwards, sparing no effort to ignore the raging passion radiated from a certain pair of forest green orbs.

He knew he was targeted by Elizabeta Héderváry. It was always said that the sports teacher harboured a special fanaticism in relationships between male creatures. A rumour had been circulating around Hetalia's staff office that the lady's secrets were all hidden in the third drawer of the her office desk, guarded by a double combination lock. God knew what confidential documents were locked in that insignificant drawer.

Arthur stood up as he went to pantry for another cup of water. He was sure that his caring colleague would follow him to here in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

"Arthur, how are you doing today?" Figured. He always knew Elizabeta was a very persistent woman. As a saying went, 'the best defense is a good offense.' Therefore, the Brit decided to make his move first, applying a quick-battle strategy.

"I am doing wonderful, thank you." Arthur calmly answered.

"That's good. You know, you looked quite hectic at the reception this morning. I wondered what made you and Alfred late for school, together." The woman smiled and asked. Despite her well-disguised innocent façade, Arthur could detect a devilish aura emitted from Elizabeta nevertheless. You could never figure out what a feminine creature was planning in her brain.

"Well, we accidentally ran into each other today on our way to school. We had an unexpected long chat that made us forget the time. In the end, we had to rush back to the school and unfortunately, we didn't make it on time." Arthur answered honestly. When he said 'honest', he really meant he was telling the truth.

He did run into Alfred in this morning (when he left the house with Alfred), he did have an unexpected long chat with the American, (objectively debating on the motion of 'Tea tastes better than coffee' where in the end he just wanted to pour ten cups of English breakfast tea on that uncivilised American who kept ranting 'coffee rules and tea sucks' and other similar insults. Practical experience was always the best approach to educate. Right.) In that case, he didn't lie to Elizabeta, just only left out a little part of the description. After all, he had a reputation to uphold and he wouldn't let that wanker ruins it.

"Oh~? It seems that you two get along with each other quite well, doesn't it?" Elizabeta raised her eyebrows.

"I don't think so. He's merely an annoying American, like an average American." Damn, now he recalled the bedroom trauma again. It just wouldn't leave him alone, would it? The more he wanted to forget, the clingier it became. Shit.

Elizabeta shut her mouth as she attentively observed her suddenly irritated interviewee. She smelt spark between the Brit and the American. The Hungarian lady couldn't help but smirk. She was sure that things would get more interesting.

"Just try your best to be easy on him, Arthur. You know," She poured a cup of water, "Thing always goes in an unexpected but destined way." She winked to the confused Brit before she headed back to her seat and took out her notebook, jotting down some notes,

**[Nature: Matchmaking**

**Clients: Alfred F. Jones (19) Arthur Kirkland (23)]**

Elizabeta smiled at the heading of her new project fondly. She had to gather her crew. The Hungarian teacher had been waiting for this moment for so long since she and her team had successfully helped the former physician of their school make up with his Turkish boyfriend and sent the Greek back home to end their long-distance relationship. She had a call to make right now.

She fetched her phone and selected a number, "Emma, the Hetalia Love Consultant Agency had another couple to serve." She said to the other person on the phone before she looked down to the third drawer of her desk with a triumph smile.

She couldn't wait to add another achievement to her agency's profile.

* * *

"Good morning, lads." Arthur opened the classroom door only to be greeted by his beloved Commonwealth class. "Happy time with Miss Lin and her drawing lesson?"

"YES!" The kids shouted excitedly. Arthur couldn't help but smile softly. His class was like an eternal sun that wouldn't cease to warm his heart up.

"Great. This lesson we are going to look at-," The Brit put down his teaching materials before he looked up and noticed a seat among the kids was empty, "Wait, where is Michelle?"

"She is in the medical room. Miss Lin said she felt a little bit sick." Peter shouted with all other kids nodding in agreement at the same time.

Arthur scowled with slight worry. Maybe he should go to the medical room after the lesson to pay the Seychelles girl a visit, though he wanted to avoid another person in the medical room, as known as Alfred F. Jones. Only by figuring out his own feeling towards him could he have the courage to face the American.

"Hope she get well soon." Arthur sighed before he took a thin story book out from his teaching stuff and blocked the cover with his hand to save for some surprises, "Today we are going to travel all around the world with Mr. Fogg, starting from London, which is also my hometown – Around the World in Eighty Days!" He moved his hand away to reveal the book's cover and smiled mildly. The story had been his favourite childhood tale. He believed the kids would fall in love with it too, especially provided the fact that his students were from different corners of the world.

His assumption was proven to be correct. The kids loved this story that they kept asking questions about different countries' cultures. Raj was the most thrilled one as his homeland was mentioned in Mr. Fogg's journey. When Arthur had read to the chapter about India, the Indian child just couldn't suppress his excitement and shouted out in Indian. Although Hong Kong had also made her appearance in the book, Hong didn't act too excited about it as opposed to Raj. Instead of his usual expressionless façade, he wore a long face today. Though it wasn't so apparent, Arthur could tell the kid was in depression. He wondered what made the child upset.

"Hong, is there anything bothering you?" After the lesson, Arthur bent down and had his sight equaled to the child's one. "You don't seem quite happy today."

"…Mr. Kirkland," After a few seconds of silence, Hong murmured with a small pout, "where is my firecracker?"

"Firecracker…?" Now Arthur remembered. He had seized the child's 'toy' yesterday, but where did he put it…? In the briefcase…then where did it go?

A series of images hit his brain like a tremendous wave in a split second, emphasising their very existences in the Brit's mind. Arthur unconsciously grasped his head because of the sudden headache. Alfred, the Death, the abnormal weapons, the pistol and the bullet…Then what happened?

He recalled a strong light of blue had enveloped him and Alfred when Alfred was…kissing him.

"Mr. Kirkland, are you alright?" A childish voice had slapped him back to reality. Arthur looked up in a fluster and saw Hong's concerned face. Other kids had also gathered up around him, wearing the same face as the Hong Kong kid.

"…I am okay, lads. I am just a little tired." He assured the kids with a forced smile before sitting down on the floor. The sudden flood of memories had made him a bit...overwhelmed.

"Hong, I am sorry but I had, um, accidentally burnt your firecracker." Immediately the oriental kid's face had turned into an about-to-cry face. Arthur could see tears welling up in Hong's eyes with his lips quivering. Upon seeing Hong's reaction, Arthur hurriedly added, "but thank you for lending it to me. I had looked through it and found it truly powerful and useful. You had helped me a lot. Thank you very much." He meant it. Hong's firecracker had undoubtedly saved his life.

Arthur saw the kid's face had lightened up a bit, no longer ready to burst into tears, but that slight pout of his hadn't faded along with the depression. "Alright." He merely grumbled.

"Maybe I treat you a candy for what you had done to help me, okay? Therefore, stop being sad." Arthur patted the child's head before he spotted a faint smile had replaced the pout. He took out a candy from his pocket and handed it to Hong. He was a kindergarten teacher after all. Candies were the long-term tenants of his pockets.

"Mr. Kirkland, I think you should go and see Dr. Jones. You look very ill." Kaelin once again showed his caring personality by patting his discomforted teacher's back softly with a kind reminder.

"I will. Thanks for your care, Kaelin." Arthur gently assured the New Zealand's kid. Of course he would go and see Dr. Jones. That bloody American owed him an explanation.

* * *

"Michelle, are you feeling better?" Alfred rolled his chair to his little patient's bed. The black-skin girl had wrapped herself in a blanket tightly with only her brunette brown eyes revealed.

"Michelle, you are going to choke if you wrapped yourself that tight." The American doctor sighed before he pulled down the girl's blanket.

"T-Thank you, Dr. Jones." Michelle stuttered while avoiding eye contact with the American doctor. Alfred could catch a trace of shyness on the girl's face.

"You are welcome." He gently replied, "Are you bored? Maybe we can have a little chat."

"Okay." The girl mumbled, dare not look at her new-found crush directly.

"Let's find a topic that we both know…How about Mr. Kirkland?" Alfred asked tentatively, trying to alleviate the girl's uneasiness. "He is your class teacher, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"Do you like him?"

"Y-Yes. He is kind. He always says that the boys should act like gentlemen while the girls should act like ladies." The girl murmured quietly.

_'That was exactly Arthur-like.'_ Alfred commented inwardly as picture of a certain fussy Queen had been conjured up inside his mind. Arthur would ceaselessly nag at him and grumble about the importance of 'acting like a king but not an overgrown brat' all the time, but Alfred could always spot a vague smile on the Queen's face whenever he pulled him out from the palace and guided him through bustling streets and narrow alleys. The American smiled fondly at his Queen's endearing dishonesty.

"You know Mr. Kirkland, Dr. Jones?" Michelle inquisitively asked. Alfred closed his eyes and leant back with both of his hands supporting at the back of his head.

"Yes, He is… an old acquaintance of mine. We didn't contact each other for years." The doctor chuckled bitterly, "I guess he had already forgotten who I am."

"Then why don't you confess to him?"

"Because I can't." Not bothering to explain further, Alfred stood up, "Alright, Michelle, I guess you have fully recovered? Let me bring you back to your classroom. Your classmates miss you."

The girl nodded and stepped down from the bed. Alfred opened the medical room door, revealing an unexpected figure.

Arthur Kirkland was standing right in front of him with his expression mixed with various emotions. The Brit's eyes widened in astonishment upon noticing the doctor's appearance.

"A-Arthur…" Alfred was too shocked to react. Did Arthur hear everything? Though he didn't leak out any important message, what he just said just now was enough to lay himself open to suspicion.

"Mr. Kirkland?" asked the little girl who was looking up at the surprising visitor and her teacher curiously.

Alfred could see realisation hit the Brit's face in an instant as Arthur turned his sight to the girl in a hurry, "Michelle? I heard that you are sick just now. Are you okay?"

"I am okay now." Michelle nodded. Arthur's expression had softened slightly.

"Great. Could you go back to the classroom by yourself? Your classmates are worrying about you." Arthur watched the girl left before he turned his head and fixed his sight on the American doctor.

He had heard the complete conversation between Alfred and Michelle. He had been standing behind the door for the whole time. The Brit originally planned to pay his ill girl a visit along with demanding a full explanation from the physician about what had really happened last night, but he didn't expect a sudden confession from Alfred. Things went even more complicated and there was only one method to shed a light on the situation.

"Alfred F. Jones, I guess it's time for you to tell me the truth?"


	7. Chapter 6: Home Visit (Part I)

**A/N: I'm not dead yet B-) I got my open examination result this Monday and luckily I didn't screw it up! Just need to wait for the offer from university now ｡:.ﾟヽ(*´∀`)ﾉﾟ.:｡  
**

**vc103221: Liz ✿ The reason why Arthur could remember the accident was because he had Hong's question triggered his memory. That was kind of a loophole that Alfred neglected. So, yeah, he was not good at covering things up.  
**

**Sora Resi: She is me actually. (what) **

**dick tale: /)_(\ Yeah you are right. I have been re-reading my ****work and I did find some grammar mistakes too D: I am a careless person so_(:3JZ)_ Anyway thanks for your advice! ****For the 'illegitimate child' reference, Francis did not knock up anyone in 10/11 I assure you. Since Arthur was raised by Francis, somehow he was his 'child'. And because Arthur did not have a 'real identity' (he was an orphan), he was somehow 'illegitimate'. Therefore, 'illegitimate child' was born. It was simply a cruel joke from Arthur.  
**

**Okay finally we come to the explanation part! It will be a little bit long and informative so I separate it into two parts and this is the first part. Hope these two chapters can help clear your doubts so far ****about this story** (✌ﾟ∀ﾟ) Enjoy and leave a review if you love this story!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Home Visit (Part I)  
**

"Alfred F. Jones, I guess it's time for you to tell me the truth?"

"…Arthur?" Alfred was startled completely and his mind went white-blank right away. His body was uncontrollably flinching back while the Brit was making his invasion of the doctor's working place step-by-step with his arms crossed on chest.

"Alfred, I remembered everything that really happened last night. Ivan Braginski, the Death, magic, and…" Arthur ducked his head and faked cough so as to conceal awkwardness, "what you did to me." He hastily summarised the American's sexual harassment act with subtler wordings. "Plus what you said just now, I have a reason to believe that you are hiding something very important from me, huh?"

"Well, that's…unexpected." Those were the only words that Alfred could come up to respond at the moment. Damn it, did he miss anything? He remembered that he performed the charm pretty well. He should have already erased all traces of the accident last night. What went wrong?

"Alfred. I need to know the truth." Arthur reaffirmed his inquiry. His sight was fixed on the doctor in front of him, not even deviated for an inch. He wasn't going to remain as an innocent outsider. Leaving this room and giving up on tracking down the truth behind were not of his plan. Not until he received a satisfactory answer from Alfred.

Despite the fact that he understood that he had no choice but obey the Brit's demand, Alfred still tried the last of his effort to persuade Arthur, "No, Arthur…you don't understand. It wasn't some random street attacks that you see in a news report. The truth behind is beyond your imagination. Just…forget about that accident and stay out of it. I am begging you. It will put you in danger and that is what I don't want to see the most." Alfred buried his face in his palms, crumbling back to his seat miserably. He couldn't risk allowing Arthur to get involved. He had promised to himself that he wouldn't let his Queen suffer, and this vow would always be kept.

To his surprise, he felt a hand was placed on his shoulder. "Hey, Alfred, look at me." A determined voice sounded above him, "Remember what I have said before? There's no way I am abandoning you, and it will stay true in all time."

"Arthur-" Alfred looked up and spoke, but his speech was cut by the other one.

"Listen up you American. Bear in mind that a real Englishman isn't of any weaklings. I am going to fight this war. You aren't going to help me choose. My life is my own business and I am telling you now that I am the only one in charge of it." Arthur hardened his tone. He wasn't someone who possessed a strong sense of justice, and he knew Alfred's words were real, but a voice in his mind told him that this man needed him. He needed to stand up and fight with him no matter what he may lose and face. This was odd. Ever since Alfred had made his appearance in his life, the American had somehow become the Brit's concern out of no particular reason. Arthur wondered what this feeling called.

"Arthur…" Alfred could see firmness stressed its very existence inside the Brit's eyes. He had seen this expression long long time ago on a certain royal who had the identical green eyes, bushy eyebrows and a head of messy locks to the teacher in front of him. Alfred couldn't help but laugh out loudly. He should have known the best that his unbending Queen would remain unchanged. Englishman, what a perfect match of his stubbornness.

"What?" Arthur frowned and glared at the laughing American.

"Nothing. You just remind me of someone." Alfred stopped laughing. His face turned into a serious one, "Arthur, there is something that you need to be warned. I meant it when I said 'dangerous'. You may have to say goodbye to your peaceful life once you get involved." Alfred sighed again. "Are you sure that you want to know?"

"Screw that." Arthur snorted, "I know exactly what I am doing and I will make peace with my own hands. You don't have to remind me so many times. Moreover," He smirked, "Two is better than one in war, I guess?"

"Well, actually it's 'three' instead of 'two', and 'two' instead of 'one'. Maybe you can ask the other one about it too. He is living in the exact same house as yours." Alfred kindly corrected. Oh, then it should be 'their' instead of 'his'.

Okay, that was a bloody twist. "…American and Frenchman, huh? No surprise." Arthur started to doubt that whether he was actually living in a soap opera or not. He remembered that in those clichéd TV dramas, the main character would be given an extremely ordinary identity (e.g. high-school student/housewife/officer worker etc.) and a small and warm family at first. The story would start with a lighthearted tune with some funny stuff popping in randomly. Nevertheless, after a few episodes, some inharmonious notes would interrupt the character's tranquil life and the whole drama would go utterly insane with murders and extra-marital affairs dominated the plot afterwards. The character would face a series of tribulations and dilemmas. Finally, he/she would find out that he/she was another person's son/daughter/brother/sister. That was how the plot commonly developed.

Back to himself. After spending a few years working hard in his job, he, a kindergarten teacher, met a strange American physician in his working place one day. After that, he was attacked by a group of human cockroaches and was sexually harassed by the said physician. And now, he just discovered that his guardian and his colleague were actually partners in crime and they seemed to be hiding a huge secret from him.

Well, with the reference of the TV dramas, Arthur could already tell what he would find out later on.

Francis Bonnefoy must be his true father and Alfred F. Jones his brother. Yes.

"Hey hey hey, don't speak like we are at the same level! America is the best and no other countries can beat us!" Alfred claimed loudly, slapping the Brit back from pondering the similarity between soap opera and real life. Arthur scowled in annoyance upon the American's arrogant declaration.

"Could you please stop displaying your patriotism based on a mistaken knowledge? It disgusts me." Arthur felt his temper was once again challenged by the American. If one day he suffered a stroke, Alfred F. Jones would definitely be the cause.

"Jeez, this is called 'national pride'! You won't understand its beauty, grumpy pants."

"You-" Just when Arthur was going to retort Alfred's false accusation, he heard a camera shutter click sound behind the door. Though it wasn't too loud, it still didn't go unnoticed by the Brit.

Maybe he misheard. Decided to ignore the sudden sound, Arthur continued "Anyway, explaining the true meaning of such decent virtue to you is 100% waste of time for sure."He gestured a 'stop arguing it's a matter of fact' sign before Alfred, who was already ready to rebut with his mouth opened, could emit a sound, "Don't try to change the subject. I demand an honest confession about the whole bloody situation. Don't you dare to tell a lie. Again." He threatened.

"I can choose to remain silent before my lawyer comes. Am I right, Mr. Inspector?" Alfred stood up and stretched his limbs, "I demand to discontinue this interrogation process until Mr. Francis Bonnefoy is with me."

"I guess my time can be saved from doing this twice if that's the case. Therefore, permission granted. However, don't think you can escape from my interrogation, Mr. Jones." Arthur folded his arms, "You are going home with me tonight. We are going to settle this today."

"All upon you." Alfred shrugged his shoulders. He still wasn't sure that the decision of telling Arthur the truth was a right one or not, but the fact that Arthur joined him as an ally had eased the heaviness that had been burdening in his heart somehow, giving him courage to fight the battle afterwards. He felt…fearless and strong. Maybe his Queen was transferring another form of energy to him. He didn't know.

Suddenly the bell rang through the whole school, reminding everyone in the building, including the two blonds in the medical room, that the lunchtime had started. The corridors were getting noisy as kids started to rush out from the classroom to enjoy their meal time.

"Lunchtime! Oh my God I am so hungry!" Alfred blatantly exclaimed. He took off his doctor white coat and took out the lunchbox made by the Frenchman. He winked to Arthur, "I think our promise in the morning still valid?"

"…My lunchbox is in my bag in the office. Wait me at the staff canteen." How an American's brain ran was far beyond his knowledge. A moment ago Alfred was acting like a businessman who failed in his investment and lost all his money in the stock market, but now he was acting like an over-enthusiastic puppy who just received a prize from his master. Weirdo.

"Wait, Arthur." Before Arthur turned the doorknob, the doctor called him from behind.

"What?"

"Just how did you manage to recollect your memories? I thought I concealed it quite well…haha…" Alfred scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. He had the right to know why he was caught, didn't he?

"Blame it to the firecracker." Arthur answered with a smirk and left. Of course he wasn't that easy to fool, stupid American.

* * *

Sometimes, Francis enjoyed being alone, especially when it came to cooking. He would spend the whole afternoon brainstorming new dishes if he didn't have any fashion week to catch up nor runway show to prepare. Not that he was boasting himself, but as a French born and bred, his culinary skills belonged to a professional standard. Cuisine and fashion were basically the same thing. Only by creating new ideas could you truly discover the real fun of being a chef or a designer. Nonetheless, he chose to throw himself into the apparel industry instead of the catering industry. The reason was simple.

You didn't even have a second to relax when working as a chef inside the busy-to-death kitchen, but as a fashion designer, you could flirt whenever you wanted. End of explanation.

An inspiration hit him while he was sewing his opening dress for his new collection today. He would be participating in a fashion week, a big one, in France, his homeland, two months later. Despite tight schedule, he didn't stop the habit of cooking all three meals all by himself. Striking a balance lifestyle was his principle of living. Thank you.

Francis hummed to himself as he held the spatula in his hand, waiting for the fish fillet in the pan to become fully cooked. He looked out the window. The sky was turning dark, which meant his roommate would be at home at any time.

As he expected, the doorbell rang a few minutes later. "Coming!" Francis yelled as he carefully lifted the fillet to the plate aside before washing his hand clean and rushing to the entrance.

"Arthur! Welcome home-" He noticed that there was one more person in the doorway other than his roommate. "Alfred, what are you doing here?"

"Good evening, Francis." Alfred smiled shyly, "Sorry for disturbing but Arthur has an urgent issue to solve and it needs me to be on the scene, with you."

"What's that, Arthur?" Francis turned his head to Arthur just to see the said Brit was squinting at him suspiciously, "Wait, mon cher, I swear that I didn't bring any woman back-"

"Frog, don't play dumb." Arthur cruelly cut the Frenchman defense, "I have already known that you," he pointed to Alfred, "and this arsehole were hiding something important from me."

"What is an 'arsehole', Arthur?" Alfred asked curiously.

"That's you, dumbass."

"Hey! I know 'dumbass'!"

"Yeah, that's you too."

"Guys," Francis placed a hand on his forehead and helplessly sighed internally. How did these two idiots manage to rule their kingdom? "Could you please come in first? I don't think doorway is a suitable place for long conversation."

"Yes, Francis is right! And I am not a dumbass! I am a He-"

"Shut up, Jones. Just get your arse inside." Arthur stepped forth and entered the house, followed by Alfred, as Francis moved aside. The American received a 'why the fuck he know" look from the Frenchman when he entered the house. He sent him back an 'I don't fucking know' look as a reply.

"What's going on, Alfred?" Francis whispered as he watched the Brit went upstairs.

"Somehow Arthur recalled the accident last night, and he was threatening me to tell him truth in the school." Alfred replied in a low voice, "Though he had been acting like nothing had happened when he was having lunch with me and didn't mention up our conversation, he was wearing that skeptical look like he was going to do something horrible to me! Other teachers in the canteen kept peeking at us with weird looks! That was totally insane!" He whined.

"But mon cher…would you tell him?" Ignoring the American's meaningless complaints, Francis went straight to the point and asked Alfred directly.

"Yes, I would, Francis." Alfred replied calmly, "We can't hide it forever. Moreover, when I warned him about the danger he may face after knowing the truth, he didn't even give a shit about it. You know," he chuckled, "like his old self."

"If you said so, I had no objection." Francis nodded and smiled. He was glad to see the young King smile again. It had been a long time since the King of Spades last wore happiness, and Francis fully understood that the only person that could make him smile was the his Queen. Two was always better than one. They just couldn't miss each other.

"Open up, lads. You have to tell me anyway." Another voice interrupted the whispers between the Frenchman and the American. After having changed into a casual wear, Arthur returned to the living room and commented, pouring himself a cup of water.

"Alright, mon lapin. But before that" Francis smiled at the Brit and said, "Let's serve our guest a delicious dinner."

* * *

In the beginning, the three blonds just ate their dinner in silence. However, the whole situation had turned upside down upon a casual question from the American.

After having their plates washed, they sat on the sofa with Alfred and Arthur on the same side and Francis on the other side. They were all waiting for someone to speak something. After a few seconds of stiffness, Alfred decided to take the initiative and lighten up the atmosphere by pointing to a photo hanged on the wall and throwing out a question.

"Is that little Arthur in the photo?"

Though the question itself was odd indeed, somehow Alfred achieved his goal successfully. They started to chat and heaviness began to fade. However, after exchanging a few words, everything went catastrophic, in Arthur's opinion.

"Let me tell you something, Alfred. Since Arthur was 4 or 5, he has been a die-hard fan of Doctor Who, a Whovian. And you know the Doctor always uses his sonic screwdriver to switch things on and off or open this door and close that door. Then, here comes our little Artie," Francis sighed exaggeratedly, "I understand a kid is always curious but you know what? He somehow found a screwdriver – I mean an ordinary screwdriver – and then he just kept stabbing every single lock in the house using that fucking screwdriver! He told me that he thought he could use his 'screwdriver' to open anything like the Doctor! Which in fact he couldn't! He has been very destructive since he was a kid!"

"Frog, could you just shut the fuck up?" Yes, this was the situation facing Arthur right now, also named as 'my son brings his girlfriend back home' situation. When Arthur said 'open up', he meant 'reveal the secrets', though Francis seemed to interpret it in another way. The Frenchman had been acting extremely keen on introducing Arthur's childhood, or 'Little Artie Stupid Cute Moments' in Francis's saying, or 'The Dark History of My Life' in Arthur's saying. The only thing that Arthur wanted to do now was shutting his self-proclaimed guardian's mouth.

"No." Francis answered concisely, and then he whined in mock, "See, now he is being rude to his parent!"

"Arthur, can't see that you have been so obsessed with the 'doctor' for so long." Alfred threw the Brit a flirty glance.

"Shut it, Casanova. He is a Timelord and you are an American. It's like, heaven and hell." Arthur coolly replied.

"Arthur you racist!"

"Yes, I am. Thanks for pointing out."

"Arthur, you want to know what we are hiding from you, right?" Francis asked all of a sudden. The bickering blonds immediately turned their heads to the other blond in the room, eyes widened in astonishment.

"Y-Yes. I want to know." Arthur adjusted his posture and answered. Alfred had also returned to a more solemn demeanor. They were both a little bewildered by the Frenchman's rare seriousness.

"Let's start with a story, shall we?" Arthur nodded and Francis continued, "Once upon a time, there were four kingdoms dominating the land. They were Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds. The God blessed the kingdoms by giving each of them a unique gift. Spades the magic, Hearts the art, Clubs the force and Diamonds the wealth. He also set a rule, that the kingdoms mustn't attack each other, or a tremendous tragedy would occur."

"Peace never left the land as the four kingdoms obeyed the God's command loyally. The kingdoms were governed by three royals: the King, the Queen and the Jack. The King, whose duty was mainly managing internal affairs, possessed the greatest authority. The Queen, who was responsible for handling external affairs, was the next. And then there was Jack, the most capable assistant of the King and Queen. Each kingdom had their own method to select the rulers. Hearts emphasised talent, Clubs emphasised strength and Diamonds emphasised wisdom, while Spades chose a totally different method. The Spadesmen obeyed the Clock's decision. They put their trust in fate, believing that it would guide them to a right direction. Their faith was rewarded. Never had a ruler of Spades failed to guard the kingdom's glory. As a result, Spades had become the strongest among four."

"Nevertheless, her might was envied by the Club's King. He was a tyrannical, greedy and ruthless man who craved to rule the whole land. In the end, his ambition had brought the land to catastrophe. He made his first move on a special occasion of the Spades' King and his Queen. The couple was killed by the Clubs's assassin on their wedding day. The Spadesmen growled in wrath for the loss of their respectable royals. They declared war against Clubs. Not long after, the other two kingdoms also joined the war. The balance collapsed. The soldiers' blood was spread all over the land. The rulers had broken their promise to God. The God was enraged by the betrayal of the men. He punished the kingdoms by erasing their trails from the history. The whole land just vanished from the world in a flash, like it never existed. It marked a full stop for the era of the four giants. We named this story as 'The Cardverse Myth'."

No one had ever interrupted the Frenchman throughout his whole narration. The other two blonds were both listening to the cardverse story attentively without making any sound. After Francis stopped speaking, the living room fell in silence for a few seconds. Arthur was the first to speak.

"Then? Does this myth have anything do with our issue?"

"Sure it does, mon lapin, because we are part of the myth," Francis replied calmly, "Arthur, you were the Queen of Spades."

* * *

**(The Doctor is my favourite character (｀・ω´・+)  
**


	8. Chapter 7: Home Visit (Part II)

**A/N: Part 2! Conversation sea (no)**

**Sora Resi: It's part of the plot so I cannot change the fact, babe (innocent eyes) **

**vc103221: DOCTOR YAY! I want a sonic screwdriver too ;w; that wee wee sound *_*I understand Artie's feeling (no) And you can see Arthur's reaction in this chapter! a_a**

**This chapter is going to be complicated so you may need to read carefully so as to catch up all the details! ENJOY!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Home Visit (Part II)**

"Arthur, you were the Queen of Spades."

"Stop by there." Arthur cut the Frenchman's words. He inhaled deeply and said slowly, "So you are telling me that I was once a Queen-wait." Realisation hit him all of a sudden. "Isn't a Queen supposed to be a…woman and the King's…wife?"

"In this world, yes, but in cardverse, no. The Queen is more like a political position. There wasn't any rule in the land forcing the Queen to marry the King," Francis calmly assured the startled Brit, but then a wicked smirk had emerged on his face, "but you did marry to Alfred in the end so I guess it wasn't a big deal."

"I see-." Just when Arthur was going to loosen up, he noticed Francis had mentioned another fact, an extremely horrifying one.

Marry to Alfred.

MARRY TO ALFRED.

"What?!" Arthur flushed furiously upon the breaking news. He immediately snapped his head to his right side to seek confirmation. Alfred was waving at him timidly with a shy smile. A pink hue could faintly be seen on the young man's cheeks.

NONONONONONOTHISCANTBE

"Yes, mon lapin. Alfred was your husband, and also the King of Spades." The Frenchman's tone was a causal one, like he was just talking about the weather but not the Brit's lifetime issue. "Oh by the way, I was the King of Diamonds. Hello." He leant back and smirked, waving at the utterly shocked Brit. "Don't worry, Arthur. Though a saying goes, 'marriage is the tomb of love', I guess you guys will definitely get over it, seeing that you two have never disappointed us when it came to exhibiting sexual tension."

"…Just shut up, Frog. Give me some self-loathing time." Arthur curled up and hid his head between his knees, pressing his legs to his chest. Okay, so the truth was Alfred was not his brother but his…husband. He really didn't want to repeat that word. The American was right. This was totally beyond imagination. Damn, his face was burning like a fire. He knew he must look like an apple right now, a ripe one. He couldn't even dare to look at Alfred directly. Just when did he get married to a man he had just known for a day?! He wasn't a Disney princess!

…Maybe he should really jump out the window now.

"Are you okay, Arthur?" Alfred asked concernedly.

"I am not okay at all. Maybe you can help a bit by shutting up your mouth." He grumbled in sulkiness, but Alfred didn't respond to him. Noticing the unusual quietness, Arthur raised his head slightly, peeping at the boy next to him stealthily. He could catch a trace of dismay flashed across that usually beaming face. Instantly the Brit felt a sense of guilt was grasping his heart hard. He hated to see Alfred like that, especially when he was the one causing it. He didn't mean to hurt Alfred's feeling…

Meanwhile, Francis had clearly watched the whole scene from the opposite. He sighed inwardly. This kind of love issue could only be solved by the persons involved. As an outsider, he could do nothing. Maybe he could at least help lighten up the atmosphere so as to ease the awkwardness.

"Arthur, don't you want to continue asking?" He asked tentatively.

Arthur revealed his head from his knees. Yes, he had something more important to do than blaming himself. Arthur decided to put his complicated emotion problem aside and handle it later. "Okay. Why are we still here then? Didn't you say that Alfred and I were killed and the whole land had disappeared?"

"Good question. According to Yao's research, the kingdoms' royals had fallen apart in different time and place in this world after the cardverse had collapsed. We still can't figure out why this would occur." Francis replied as he leant against the sofa lazily, "We were reborn in the shape of an infant, making our first appearance randomly in this world. You can say that we are all natural-born orphans, because we didn't have a mother nor a father in the first place, just ourselves alone."

"Who's Yao?"

"He was the Jack of Spades." Instead of Francis, Alfred answered the question. He seemed to return to his usual self from depression. "He had come to this world many years ago, earlier than me. I came to this world 40 years ago. He had been acting as my guardian the whole time."

"Wait, 40 years ago?! Didn't you age?!" Alfred was older than him for bloody 17 years?! Hell no.

"Like I had mentioned before, we were immortal. The royals possessed with magic will stop aging after they inherited the throne. I guess we can enjoy this privilege in this life too. That's why I could obtain a medical degree at the age of 19. I am not gifted. I just have more time to study." Alfred rested his chin on his hand, "I became a King when I was 19, so I stopped aging when I turned 19 in this life too."

Abruptly he paused and stared at Arthur, studying the Brit attentively. Arthur instantly avoided eye contact with the American, "I remembered that you were exactly 23 when becoming the Queen, so I guess that was why you didn't notice that aging difference on yourself."

"So I won't age from now on?" Arthur asked skeptically. It sounded...unbelievable.

"Most likely."

"You guys are so lucky. I want to retain my handsome face too, so I can flirt with the beauties forever." Francis exclaimed in feigned misery.

Arthur just threw him a disgusted glance. "Don't worry. I believe the ladies have little interest in your frog-like face." He sneered.

"At least I have the courage to confess my love to someone I am interested in. How about you, Tsundere?" Francis sophisticatedly rebutted, not dampened by the Brit's criticism at all.

"It's none of your business, wine bastard! And what the hell is 'Tsundere'?!" Arthur flustered and retorted in a haste. Meanwhile, Alfred was covering his mouth with his hand, trying hard to conceal his snicker.

He knew that word, and he truly had to admit that it was a really damn good word to describe the Brit. He held up a thumb to the Frenchman appreciatively, which was responded by a mischievous wink. Feeling ignored and excluded by the other two blonds, Arthur vented his anger by ruthlessly stepping on the American's feet.

"Ouch! That's hurt, Arthur!" Alfred whined exaggeratedly.

"You deserve it!" Although he knew Alfred was just pretending, his tone wasn't as firm as before when he was scolding the American because of the guilt. No, he couldn't show any signs of giving in. He needed to get down to business. Arthur reminded himself internally and returned to a more decent composure, "Then, where is Yao?"

"He had died before I came to find you." Alfred also returned to a more serious expression, "If someone possessed with magic, he or she could feel other magic beings too. Although Ivan Braginski, the King of Clubs, isn't born with the Spades Magic like we are, he has mastered Black Sorcery, another form of magic that was created to against ours, the fatal weapon of killing a Spades' mage. Therefore, Yao had made a seal on both of us, like what he had done to himself. It concealed our aura so that Ivan couldn't sense our existences. However, the seal started to wear off because Yao's power was weakening gradually." The American explained.

"Not long before I came here, Ivan discovered the hiding place of Yao and me. Yao tried to fight him but he wasn't as strong as before already. In the end, Ivan killed him. Fortunately I wasn't at home at that time so I had escaped from the death." He said, "I could sense Yao's death because the seal on me had broken, but Ivan didn't come to me straight away so I guessed he needed time to recover. So I seized the chance, packed my stuff in a hurry and came to you and Francis. That's all."  


"I am sorry to hear that, Alfred." Arthur replied apologetically.

"It's okay." Alfred waved his hand, "You have just met him for once so I guess you don't have much impression of him."

"I have met Yao before...?" Arthur tried to recall his childhood memory, but no trail of 'Yao' had surfaced on his mind.

"You were just a newborn baby when you met him." Francis interrupted, "When I was about 13, Yao came to the orphan house and handed you to me, asking me to take care of you. He had found you in a forest in England. I have already retrieved back my memory at that time so I accepted his request. I have been fulfilling my duties all this time, which was exactly what I have been doing for these 23 years."

He added, "Besides the seal that Alfred had mentioned just now, Yao also cast a spell on you, preventing you from recalling anything about your past life, but I guess you will remember it up gradually like I did, seeing that the caster had already passed away."

"I was the one who asked Yao to do that in the first place," Alfred sighed, "because I didn't want you to get involved in this war between Ivan and me. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me anymore."

"Alfred…" Arthur placed his hand on Alfred's. He knew this man had sacrificed a lot for him even if he didn't remember anything about him. He just…didn't deserve his cares. "Where is Ivan now?"

"I don't know, but it's just a matter of time before he shows himself. That sickening greed of his has never ceased to grow. I think he wants to accomplish what he couldn't in his past life, which is to rule the world. It's easier for him to take over this world than in the cardverse, I guess. He has an undead army while there are only two of us who have the ability to stop him. That's why he was hunting us – the only obstacles in his way of conquering this world. He had already done this to me when I was a baby."

"Months later after I have come to this world, Ivan had found me and he tried to kill me. Just when he was going to end my life after killing my foster parents, Yao arrived just in time. He fought with Ivan and successfully forced him to retreat. From that time on, I have been living with Yao. He taught me knowledge, also helped restore my memory." He chuckled, "A super crazy and ridiculous truth, isn't it?"

"Sure indeed." Arthur held his cup up and took a sip of tea. He needed his best mate to give him some fucking depressant. His brain required some time to digest what he had received just now, and what he would afterwards, "What about the, um, the kiss last night?" He tried to act natural when asking, but damn, he sounded so embarrassed.

"That was part of the ritual. There is a bond between us, Arthur, a magical bond. To activate the magic flow inside my body, I need to absorb energies from you first through physical contact. After that, I can transform it into other different charms and spells and make use of them. This was also the reason why we needed to be raised separately. Your body would be affected by mine if we stayed too close. The spell I used to exterminate the Death last night was an attacking one. The Black Sorcery and the Spades Magic are the fatal weakness of each other." Alfred explained precisely, "At the same time, I used a healing spell on you to cure your wound in order to save your life. That's the truth of the accident last night."

Okay, so he was also a magical charger other than being a Queen and an immortal. Just how many shocking news did he need to go through in one night? Arthur felt like his head was going to be overloaded. He had never expected that he was actually such a big cheese. Damn, could he just remain to be a normal kindergarten teacher?

"Can you show me how it works now?" Nevertheless, he was intrigued. He had always been a fan of fantasy story so yeah, just let him indulge himself for a moment and taste a bit of the magic by first-hand experience.

"If you don't mind." Arthur nodded, "Alright, take my hand first." The American stretched his hand out to the Brit, waiting for his partner in magic to grab it.

"Wait, I don't have to kiss you?"

Dead air.

"…That's not necessary actually. Any forms of physical contact can complete the ritual." Alfred confessed honestly. He just couldn't resist the urge to well, do something that a couple usually do when reunion. He admitted that he was a little bit over-impulsive last night nonetheless.

Although Arthur wasn't some pure girls who would care about being kissed by the boy next door, that didn't mean he would just bear with it and do nothing in return. "Oh? So I guess this is also counted as physical contact too, right?" Arthur used his very strength to pinch at Alfred's arm till that part of his skin turned purple-red. Right away he heard a satisfactory response.

"Dude, are you insane?!" Alfred yelled in pain, "Stop bullying my body!"

"It serves you right, pervert!" Finally Arthur let go of the American, holding the stretched-out hand with his. "Don't do anything weird this time, or I will let you taste another round of Kirkland's Torture." He threatened the other venomously.

"Alright, alright, I promise I won't do anything." Alfred assured, "Ready?"

Arthur grabbed Alfred's hand tightly in response. "Yes."

"Here we go." Instantly Arthur felt something was being pulled out from his body. It was flowing to Alfred through their touching hands, which were now encircled by a gleaming blue ring. This was nostalgic. He remembered this scene, this feeling…

Suddenly he noticed that he wasn't in the living room anymore. It was replaced by a grand study room. Right in front of him was Alfred, but the American was no longer wearing his shirt and jeans. Instead, he was wearing a classic purple-blue long coat and a naval blue vest. He was holding his hand and smiling at him gently. It was a bright smile that he had never seen on the doctor's face, and it suited him well. His heart was pounding faster and faster at the sight of the smiling American...Alfred...Al...

"We've made it, Arthur!" A voice had drawn him back from the illusion in a split second. Arthur blinked his eyes. He was in his house again.

"I think that's enough, Arthur. You can release your hand." The American's face was brimming with excitement as he said to the Brit.

Arthur quickly returned to his composure before he followed Alfred's instruction and loosened his grip, paying attention to what the American was holding in his other hand, and right away it stunned him.

"It's beautiful…" His eyes widened in amazement at the sight of the transparent weapon shaped by lines of blue. It was a gleaming pistol.

"The more powerful the weapon created is, the more energies it required." Alfred explained while spinning the pistol in his hand, "It's the same as a normal gun, except for the fact that it is created by magic and only caused damage on magic beings." He aimed at a glass on the table and pulled the trigger. The bullet vanished right away the moment it touched the surface of the glass. "See?"

"Hey! Don't do experiment on my glass!" Francis complained as he moved the glass away from the muzzle. Alfred just held his hands up and stuck his tongue out playfully.

"You-" Just when Arthur was going to scold the other two blonds' childishness, his sight suddenly went blurred and his head was spinning. He felt like he was going to faint…

"Arthur?! Is there anything wrong?" Vaguely he could hear Alfred was calling his name anxiously. A strong arm had held him close. His head was now resting on a broad chest. It felt warm and safe…

"No…I just felt a bit tired…" Arthur tried to get up, but his body decided to disobey its master's will. The strength in his body had already been drained out totally. He just wanted to sleep right here…

"I am giving you back some energies. You just didn't get used to the ritual yet." Slowly the strength was being restored back to his body as Alfred grabbed his hand. The images in front of him had become clear again. Although he was still feeling tired, he didn't feel like he was going to collapse anymore.

"Better now?" Alfred asked concernedly as he helped the Brit return to a proper posture. Arthur nodded as an affirmation.

"I guess we just end our discussion here. It's already 11 now, and I am quite weary too." Francis stood up and stretched his body, "Alfred, you are staying?"

"If you are okay with it." The American shrugged and replied.

"Then you may stay." Francis smiled friendly, "I go get some clothes for you."

"Wait, Frog, we don't have a guest room in our house." Arthur pointed out despite feeling exhausted.

"What are you talking about, mon lapin?" Francis answered naturally. The Spades' couple should really thank him for this, "Doesn't your bed have space?"

* * *

Maybe he should seriously warn that fucking Frenchman that his bedroom wasn't a fucking guestroom and it wasn't used to serve a fucking guest.

Arthur fixed his sight on the white wall in front of him, not daring to turn around. He could feel his bed was heavier than usual – of course it was heavier. After all, there was a fucking full-grown man on the bed other than himself.

Alfred was now sleeping next to him. It wasn't that 'next to' actually, seeing that there was a distance of about 20cm between them. Arthur had already retreated back to his last line of defense, which was his bedside. Still, he was clearly aware of the fact that Alfred, his newly-known husband, was sleeping on the same bed with him, which was a very embarrassing state to him indeed.

P.S., he had already settled Mr. Unicorn in a safe place far from this battlefield. The fluffy toy was now sitting peacefully on the chair aside. No worries.

His head was in a chaos. All the information he received just now was mixed together, circulating on his mind unceasingly. The cardverse, Yao, Ivan, the Black Sorcery, the Spades Magic…and Alfred. He just couldn't get rid of that smiling Alfred in the illusion in his memory. That picture had been lingering on his mind for the whole time. He had already accepted other shocking facts and swallowed them like water. He knew Francis and Alfred were truly telling his the truth this time, however shocking and incredible it was, considering that Alfred had even proven to him straight away.

Nonetheless, he had no idea what that illusion was about. Judging by Alfred's clothing, it shouldn't be in modern time. Maybe that was when Alfred was the King of Spades? But why didn't he smile like he used to now?

"Arthur." Arthur was immediately caught off-guard by the sudden call, and then before he realised, he was falling down from the bed.

"Whoa!" Almost in the same second his body crashed to the floor. Fortunately he didn't feel much pain as the blanket was beneath him and acted as a buffer.

"Dude, be careful, could you?" Just when Arthur was climbing back to his bed in shame, he felt a pair of hands were grasping his waist and pulling him to the middle of the bed. The moment Arthur lifted his head up to see what happened, it was Alfred's face which greeted him, and it was VERY close to his.

"You should sleep at the middle of the bed, not at its edge. That's why you fell." Alfred stated with his face brimming with innocence.

Of course Arthur wasn't going to give in to that adora-evil trick that easily, even if its power had elevated up due to the lack of the glasses which had been taken off by the American before going to bed. He tried to struggle against the American's hold by pushing his chest and kicking his foot relentlessly. If he had to choose between bedside and Alfred, he would definitely go for the former. Although bedside wasn't a pleasing place for sleep, he was sure that the probability that he could fall asleep at the bedside was still higher than sleeping next to Alfred.

"Hey! Stay still!" After several rounds of fierce combats, Alfred decided to take a more aggressive move so as to end this battle quickly. He wrapped his arms around Arthur's chest and pressed the Brit's body against his tightly with all of his strength, restraining the stubborn Englishman from struggling any further. As a result, the two blonds' bodies were now practically sticking to each other with no distance left between.

Arthur blushed at Alfred's intimate behaviour the moment he felt another warm body was pressed against his. His face was on Alfred's chest that he could even hear his lively heartbeat. He could smell the other's scent. It was comforting and familiar…He began to paralyze in Alfred's embrace. The American seemed to possess a special charm that he always had his way to make him feel protected and relaxed. He no longer struggled but immersed himself submissively in the warmth with a more comfortable posture.

"Arthur?" Alfred whispered tentatively.

"What?" Arthur answered with his eyelids half-closed. His body was demanding a rest.

"Just want to say that…I won't mind if you have a girlfriend in this life."

"Wait, what?!" Arthur had fully woken up upon Alfred's confession. Did he mishear or anything? Was Alfred telling him to find…a girlfriend?

"I don't want you to be bounded by our relationship in the past, Arthur. If you have a crush on a pretty girl, just go for her." Alfred chuckled to himself, trying to conceal the slight bitterness in his tone. He wasn't some possessive jerks that would chain and control his love when his heart didn't belong to him. If Arthur thought he wasn't for him, then he would give in and set him free. He wanted his love to be happy, even if he wasn't the one to give him happiness…

"Impossible!" Without a further thought, Arthur blurted. He immediately covered his mouth with his hand after realising what he had just said while Alfred was staring at him in shock. What the hell did he just say?

"N-No, that wasn't what mean…I mean…well…I just…" He couldn't even form a complete sentence to defend for himself. His brain was as blank as a white paper. Luckily, the room was dark enough for him to hide the rosy flush colouring his cheeks. Thanks God.

Before he could express anything in a proper sentence structure, he was pulled into a firm hug. Alfred had placed his head on his shoulder. Arthur could clearly hear the man's soft whisper beside his ear, "Arthur…Thanks for choosing me."

"That wasn't what I meant!" The American was showing that kicked puppy look to him again...He wouldn't fall for the same trick again...probably?

"Look, Alfred. I just meant I have no interest in starting a romantic relationship at the moment, not that I was, um, rejecting you." The said sad puppy look immediately turned into a cheerful puppy look. Wasn't it change too fast? "Nevertheless, I won't mind giving it a try if someone shows his affection to me." This was his limit already. He wasn't going to say anything further. The more he said, the more uncontrollable the situation went. He had tasted this experience many times.

By the way, did he just miss out 'her'? Damn his instinct.

"Arthur, I promise that I will not disappoint you." Alfred tightened his cuddle. He was so glad that Arthur was willing to give him the second chance. Although his Queen didn't say it out, Alfred knew exactly what the dishonest Brit really meant, or he wouldn't call himself the Queen's husband.

"Git...Just sleep already." Arthur buried his head into the pillow and mumbled, decided to ignore the odd sense of happiness swelling in his heart for the time being.

"Okay." Alfred pulled the blanket over Arthur and himself, and then he placed a light goodnight kiss on the Brit's forehead, "Sweet dream, Arthur. I am always by your side."

_"Just remember the Hero is always by your side."_

"Then you better stay longer, Hero." Arthur muttered as his consciousness gradually went vague due to sleepiness. He let his body relax before he fell asleep peacefully in the embrace of the American.

He dreamed that dream again, the dream where that mysterious man in his childhood would appear. However, this time was different from before, because he could finally hear the words that he had been waiting for years from his imaginary friend.

_"I've come back to you, Arthur."_


	9. Chapter 8: Pursuit

**A/N: Yeah it's 'royals' /_\ finally **

**PurpleLilacFlowerOfTheMist: THX! I hope it will come true too ;w;**

**_(:3JZ)_ this is a short chapter but I hope you don't mind. ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Pursuit**

"Good morning, girls. It's time to work on our new project. Please be reminded that in order to protect our clients' identities, do use the code names given when referring to them." Elizabeta declared and she looked at the other two female staff sitting at the same round table. Every once a while they would sit together like this and chatted about some 'interesting stuff' happened in the school. "Let's start."

"I have some news to announce." Emma put up her hand, trying to earn attention.

"What is it, Emma?"

"They arrived at school together, again." The Belgian girl briefly reported. The three girls instantly exchanged glances with each other.

"Really?" The Hungarian teacher smirked, "Then I guessed they 'bumped into' each other intentionally again."

"Definitely." The receptionist nodded in consent, "I seriously doubt that one of them does it on purpose."

"If that so, it is J without a doubt. I have told you that when he mentioned about his crush, he turned his sight to K. Love at first sight for certain."

"And I have something to show you guys." The Asian teacher, Mei, smiled to her colleagues mystically before taking out a photo from her pocket, "This was taken yesterday. When I walked pass the medical room, I heard some sounds of quarrel inside so I took a peep through the door window. Guess what I had found." She slid the photo to the centre of the table, "It was our clients."

"I wondered what they are doing alone in a small room. Anything could happen." Emma whistled at the sneaky snapshot, "Did you figure out what they were quarreling over?"

"No. K turned his head to my side after I have taken the picture. I guessed he noticed my presence so I could just walk away." Mei pouted.

"You did your best, Mei." Elizabeta patted her depressed colleague on shoulder as a comfort, "Never mind, we still have a lot of chances to stalk them in school." She opened the file on the table, "Maybe we should focus on how to make K notice J's feeling towards him-"

Suddenly her phone vibrated. Elizabeta took it out and checked the new message. The grin on her face was growing wider and wider as she stared at her phone screen. The other two girls both looked at the Hungarian teacher curiously, wondering what made her so excited.

"Girls, I think we can skip some steps," Elizabeta turned her phone screen to her colleagues, "because J just asked me what K loves."

* * *

It had been two weeks since Arthur discovered the his past life. He was grateful that his life didn't change much. No attacks, no accidents. He was still working as a kindergarten teacher and dealing with his troublesome Commonwealth class every day, living his peaceful life. However, one thing had intruded his routine of life, or he should say one person.

"Arthur, it's him again." Once he stepped into the office, his Hungarian colleague approached him and whispered, "Your Hero."

"Thanks for reminding, Elizabeta." Arthur sighed and went to his seat. As expected, a rose was placed on his desk with a note card wrapped on the stem. He picked up the card and read,

**[I love you more than words can wield the matter; dearer than eyesight, space and liberty. Your Hero]**

Arthur blushed slightly at the words on the card before carefully putting it inside his drawer along with other love notes written by the same person. Of course he knew who the 'Hero' was. He could not help but wondered why the American and his imaginary friend in childhood both picked 'Hero' as their nickname.

Ever since Alfred had declared that he would not disappoint him in terms of 'showing affection', Arthur had been receiving a rose along with a note card with love quote written on every day. Though the sender would sign himself 'Hero' without revealing his true identity, Arthur knew the best who he was.

Besides the rose and the love note, Alfred would appear in his doorway in the morning every day, greeting him with the brightest smile. Then they would walk to school together. Sometimes they would bicker over some meaningless stuff; sometimes they would just say nothing throughout the whole walk. Nevertheless, Arthur didn't feel awkward at the silence at all. On the contrary, he was quite comfortable with the calmness that the American brought to his heart.

They would bid each other goodbye when they arrived at the school and headed to different direction. Still, Arthur would find the rose and the card on his table when he stepped into the office. He was sure that someone working in the office must be helping Alfred, or the doctor would not have chance to put down his gift without alerting him.

He could always find Alfred waiting for him at the entrance when he left the school, and then they would walk back to their house together like what they did in the morning. Sometimes Alfred would come over to his house and have dinner with Francis and him. It was like the American had already become a part of his life, and gradually Arthur was getting used to his company.

As time flew, everyone around Arthur all knew that there was a young man called Alfred F. Jones was pursing the Brit, and all of them were telling him to accept his love. Even the kids were asking him when he and Alfred would get married. Despite cursing who told the kids about his private in his heart, Arthur only smiled and told them that he and Alfred were not together. The whole class simultaneously sighed in disappointment. Arthur had noticed that somehow the frequency of his students getting injured had increased drastically. He started to doubt that whether the kids were doing it on purpose.

It was kind of surprising that Alfred seemed to know his interest very well. Alfred would bring him to 'Britannia Teashop' in the morning which Arthur was sure that the American had never stepped into before, seeing how much he despised tea culture. And then the love quotes, they were all extracted from the works of Shakespeare. Moreover, when Arthur went to visit his injured student, the doctor would have somehow prepared an Earl Grey tea for him, using it as a bait to make him stay longer. Although the tea itself was brewed below standard, he still accepted the invitation, because it was Alfred who made him stay, not the tea.

To be honest, his affection towards Alfred did grow stronger because of the persistent pursuit from the American. Nevertheless, deep in his heart he was feeling afraid. He was hesitate to accept Alfred's love, although he was the one who encourage his pursuer to make his move in the first place.

He knew Alfred was caring and loving him because he was his Queen in the past. However, he was feeling guilty. After all Alfred had devoted to him, he could not even remember the days they had been through together. He had been trying hard to recall the memory of his past life, but nothing ever came out. He was merely Arthur Kirkland, a normal kindergarten teacher, not the Queen whom the King of Spades loved, but Alfred had never stopped his pursuit. Even though Alfred had never forced him to give him an answer, Arthur knew that the American was waiting for his response.

He should probably give Alfred a rejection, telling him to give up on him, to find someone who deserved his love more, to stop loving him, to give Alfred a fair treatment. Still, he didn't have the courage to do it, to give up on Alfred.

Love could make one selfish, now Arthur believed it.

* * *

"Arthur hasn't come home yet? It's already 9!" Alfred replied worriedly. He was waiting for the Brit today at the entrance like he usually did after the last school bell had rung, but Arthur didn't turn up. He had tried to call him but his phone only asked him to leave a voicemail. He had checked on his house but no one answered the door bell. He left a message to Francis, telling him to call back when Arthur came back home. Finally he received call from Francis, but the Frenchman just told him a shocking fact.

"Yes. I cannot find him either. Usually he would tell him where he goes, but he didn't leave me a message this time." The Frenchman spoke hastily.

"…Ivan." Alfred used his other hand to grab the jacket and hurried to the door, "I am going to find him now."

"Wait, Alfred-"

Suddenly another call interrupted in. Alfred took a look at the phone screen. It was Arthur calling, the person he was desperate to contact with.

"Francis, Arthur is calling me. I will call you back." Not waiting for the Frenchman response, he switched to the other call, "Arthur, where are you?"

"…Stupid…American…" He could barely hear the mutter from the Brit on the other side.

"Arthur?" Alfred grabbed his phone closer.

"He was drunk. Come and pick him up already." An annoyed voice answered the phone instead of the Brit. Alfred could hear Arthur was shouting something like 'give me back the phone' in the background.

"Drunk? Where is he?"

"The Devil Pub at the 5th main street. Just-hey you can't throw it to other customers!" After a few seconds of loud chaotic sounds mixed with breaking glass and women screaming, the phone call was hung up in silence.

Alfred put down his phone and stared at it for a moment, and then he sighed and put on his jacket before turning the doorknob.

His Queen was really good at giving him trouble.

* * *

The drunken Brit on his back was unusually quiet as Alfred walked back to the house. He found him at the bar counter in the said pub. The owner had been urging them to leave quickly so as to prevent the Brit from continuing ruining anything in the pub. According to the bar owner, Arthur had destroyed three glass bottles and a wooden chair, plus scaring off nearly all of the customers in the pub. Alfred could only keep apologising to the bar owner while carrying the destroyer on his back. Francis was right. The Brit was really destructive, especially when he was drunk.

When Alfred told Francis on the phone that he had found Arthur, the Frenchman just said that he would rather sleep than take care of the drunken Brit. Naturally, the responsibility fell on Alfred so he just brought Arthur back to his home. He wasn't unwilling to take up the task. On the contrary, he was very willing to do so, because only at this moment could he feel Arthur was dependent on him.

"If something is troubling you, I am willing to listen. You don't have to get yourself drunk. It isn't going to solve the problem." Alfred kneeled down and placed the wet towel on Arthur's forehead before sighing helplessly at the dishonesty of the Brit lying on the sofa.

This was not the first time he had to take care of the drunken Brit. He had handled this kind of cases when the Queen sneaked in the cellar and drank himself drunk whenever he was depressed. He had noticed that Arthur was a bit absent-minded these days. He would space out when Alfred was chatting with him. Maybe this was the right chance to help Arthur solve the knot in his heart.

Alfred sat down on the sofa, pulling Arthur into his embrace. He stroked his hair tenderly and asked, "Then, can you tell me what's going on?"

"Alfred…"

"Um?"

"Do you love me…?"

Alfred was a bit startled originally by the Brit's sudden direct question, but then he sighed again and held the Brit close, smoothing his back gently. "I have been sending you love notes for totally two weeks and you are asking me do I love you? You knew my answer already."

"But what if I can't remember being a Queen? What if I can never recollect the memories between us? You will gradually lose interest in me and find someone else, leaving me behind, Alfred." Arthur suddenly began to blurt as hot liquid was streaming down his face. Alfred instantly felt his heart ached at the sight of the crying Brit.

"Arthur, I-"

"I-I am not the Q-Queen of Spades, the one you love, A-Alfred. I am only A-Arthur Kirkland, a 23-year-old kindergarten t-teacher with nothing a-attractive." Arthur curtly cut Alfred's sentence. His whole body was trembling violently. His voice began to break. His heart was scattered and torn apart, "Why are you so persistent in me…I don't worth your love, Alfred. It just isn't fair to you." It took all his courage to say that out, but he had to. He couldn't give Alfred fake hope anymore, however badly he wanted Alfred to stay with him, to live the rest of their lives together, to be secured in his warm embrace forever...

"Stupid Artie…" Alfred wiped the tears rushing out from the Brit's eyes away gently. He cupped his cheeks and placed a light kiss on the tear stains, "You have made me fall for you for once. Why can't you make it a twice? You should be more confident in yourself, Arthur. You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen." Alfred stared straightly at those swollen green eyes, "Whom I love is Arthur Kirkland, past, now and forever. It doesn't matter whether you remember up our memories or not. If you really can't remember," He chuckled softly, "then let us fall in love again. I will never get bored with doing this."

"Alfred…" Suddenly Alfred was pulled forward before he could react. A pair of soft lips was placed on his. Arthur was kissing him. Though the kiss was filled with dense smell of alchochol which dazed Alfred a bit, it wasn't entirely bad. The only problem that Alfred was unsatisefied with was that the time their lips touched was too short as Arthur slowly drew back and broke the kiss, leaving their lips heating with other's temperature.

"I love you, Alfred…please stay with me." Arthur buried himself in the embrace of the American. That broad chest and the steady heartbeat was the only shore he ever had, and he wanted to stay in it forever…

"Of course I will. I love you too, Arthur." Alfred caressed Arthur's back as he murmured softly to assure the Brit In his arms. At this moment, he felt he had his feet on the ground. Finally he had won back Arthur's heart. Truth be told, he never predicted himself to lose this game as he had always believed that their bond would lead them to the same direction again, to the place where their hearts settled.

"Thank you...Al..." Gradually Arthur stopped sobbing and closed his eyes in content. His breath started to smooth and slow down.

"Arthur?" Alfred tilted his head just to see the Brit had already fallen asleep. "Why can't you be this honest when you are sober?" He sighed and said to himself, leaning back on the couch, but the sleeping Brit could no longer hear his question.

* * *

A white-haired man was standing alone in the street. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, a menacing smile had emerged on his face. He could detect a trace of unusualness in the air, a bit of…magic.

"It's time to end this chase, da?"


	10. Chapter 9: Date

**A/N: Update! I have been busy with handling my university stuff (I got an offer!) so I did not have much time on writing SAD**

**Sora Resi: Sweetie Alfred is the best :3333  
**

**PurpleLilacFlowerOfTheMist: OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH! I will keep writing ;w;! You are so sweet /)_(\ Thanks for your encouragement! **

**CamerAnon: Thx for loving this story :D!  
**

**Ivannnnnn :D**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Date**

Arthur woke up with extreme pain crashing his head. He could barely get up as he was too tired to do so. Damn, he was feeling like crap that every nerve of his was signaling sour sore.

It had been a long time since he experienced this kind of physical torture, a delayed effect of alcohol. He was fully alerted his capacity of liquid, so usually he would not drink too much, unless he was unbearably depressed that he demanded for a release.

He remembered that yesterday he was plagued by the consistent pursuit from Alfred so he went to the pub that he used to go for a loose. Arthur could barely remember some screaming of women and cracking sound of glasses, also his unconscious rant about Alfred. He had called the said American impulsively because of the effect of the alcohol in the pub, but his phone was seized by someone when he was going to have a decent conversation (in his opinion) with Alfred. What happened next…?

He could feel a soft mattress was bearing his weight, but it felt different…this was not the bed he usually woke up from. The pillow, mattress, and blanket, they all gave him a strange sense. This was not his bed, nor Francis's bed (not that he had slept with the Frenchman before, but basically they used the same brand of beddings, so he knew he was not sleeping in his house). So whose bed he was sleeping on now? Arthur just hoped he did not run into a prostitute last night and knocked somebody up.

Despite extreme weariness (even though he had slept through all night peacefully), Arthur slowly opened with his eyes, groaning. His eyes were so dry that even a small movement could make him feel uncomfortable. Vision began to form a clearer image as Arthur blinked his eyes a few times.

It was a light yellow ceiling which greeted him. A simple ceiling lamp was hung at the centre of it. Arthur struggled to get up while rubbing his head frustratingly. He could feel his temper was practically throbbing. Perhaps he should take some hangover remedies to alleviate his hell-like headache. Nevertheless, before that, he needed to figure out where he was.

Arthur rested against the soft bed head and looked around the strange room with his eyes half-opened. It was simply decorated. A wooden closet was placed on the left side of the room, while a window on the right. Arthur narrowed his eyes as he stared at the window. Morning light penetrated the glass and scattered over the bedroom. Arthur got off the bed and staggered to the window. He looked to the street below and found that the scenery was familiar. The trees, the parking lot and the street sign…he was exactly in his home street and building. Maybe he was in a neighbour's house?

Arthur turned around and walked to the room door, but he stopped before a mirror. Of course his weary look was too pathetic to stare at, but what caught his eyes was what he was wearing. He wasn't wearing any of his clothes but an oversize T-shirt with nothing covered the lower part of his body except for his underwear (Thanks God). The tail of the shirt had reached his thighs and his legs were exposed to the air, but they were not of Arthur's focal points.

He was totally speechless at the three black words printed on the T-shirt he was wearing. Somehow he felt humiliated that he, as an Englishman, was practically betraying his national will by wearing this T-shirt.

**[I ❤ **** USA]**

At least he knew whose house he was in now. Arthur began to panic as he started to realise what situation he was in. He had been distraught at the thought of being abandoned by Alfred because of his loss of memory for the whole week, and now he was in the said American house after drunk. Needless to say, Alfred must have seen him in a drunken fit, and it was not something…presentable, Arthur knew it by himself. After all, it was not a pleasant thing to be found by your crush when you were dead drunk. What if Alfred had lost interest in him after seeing this improper side of his? Arthur felt his heart was instantly struck by the thought of Alfred leaving him behind and his spirit was more dampened. He wasn't attractive in the first place. It was a miracle that Alfred could be so persistent on him-

Wait, why he felt like he had spoken out these things before?

No, no, no, It didn't matter whether Alfred liked him or not. Arthur patted his face, telling his brain to be more sensible and convince himself that he was not worrying about how Alfred thought about him. He should focus on how to get out of this place, not this kind of subtle love issue.

He quickly scanned through the room to see if his clothes were here but he could find none of his own stuff. His clothes, his briefcase…maybe he should just politely asked Alfred to give him back his things, and then decently left his house, leaving his private frustration to be handled in his private place.

Arthur stealthily walked down the stairs. He heard sound from the kitchen. Arthur covertly approached the kitchen and peeped into the room. Alfred was preparing the breakfast that he was pouring cereal into a bowl. He was grinning happily like something good had happened on him.

Alfred picked the bowl up and turned around, leaving no time for Arthur to escape. As a result, startled green met startled blue as both blonds were staring at each other in shock.

"Arthur-"

"Alfred, thanks for taking care of me. I knew what I had done last night and I apologised for troubling you. I guess I better leave now. It would be great if you can give me back my things." Before Alfred could say anything, Arthur blurted in a fluster and cut the American's words.

After staring at the Brit for a few seconds, Alfred just walked pass Arthur and put the bowl down on the dining table before he replied, "Don't be so nervous, dude. You should at least make a sound if you have woken up! I was nearly scared to death that you suddenly appeared noiselessly like a ghost behind me." After settling the breakfast, Alfred turned to Arthur. Something was glittering inside the blue eyes. He stared at Arthur and asked, "Arthur, are you sure that you remember what happened last night?"

"What? I was drunk and you took me back to your house. Isn't that all? Although I don't understand why you took me back to your house instead of my own house." Arthur honestly answered.

Alfred only sighed in response, "You know what? You are hopeless." What could be more depressing than your love didn't remember that he had confessed and admitted his love towards you, especially when your crush was a tsundere? Alfred guessed he needed to spend another round of effort to 'force' Arthur to acknowledge his love again.

After Arthur had fallen asleep in his arms last night, he had helped the Brit change his clothes (he admitted that he intentionally chose that T-shirt. He didn't forget to take a picture. Arthur was too adorable in that outfit) and carried the drunk to his bed. Since his bed was a single bed, he just lent it to Arthur and slept on the couch. His neck was still in pain due to improper sleeping posture, but he was doing it for Arthur so it didn't matter.

"Anyway, you don't have to be this rush. I had prepared breakfast for you. I think you may want some light food, seeing that you are undergoing a hangover, so I make you cereal. You can eat it first before you leave." Alfred signaled to the table before smiling to the Brit, "I don't mind taking care of you anyway."

As he assumed, Arthur immediately blushed at his sentence. "I don't need your care!" He sat down on the chair and asked, "Is this bowl for me?"

Alfred sat down on the opposite of Arthur, "Yes."

"Anyway, thanks." Arthur looked down to the bowl and found that something was missing. "Alfred, do you have-"

Before he named his request, Alfred had already stood up, "Oh yes, I forgot to add honey in your bowl. Wait a second." The American walked back to the kitchen and opened the cupboard, taking out a jar of honey. He handed it to Arthur, "Here it is."

Arthur took a spoon of syrup from the jar and added it to the bowl after receiving the honey from Alfred, "Thanks." He slowly stirred the cereal as he asked the American suspiciously, "How did you know that I need honey?"

"Because I had seen you adding it into the cereal before." Alfred shrugged naturally.

"You had seen me adding it…?" Arthur was sure that he had not had cereal for breakfast in front of Alfred, even when Alfred was dropping by his place and had breakfast with Francis and him. Then he knew the truth, "You mean in the past life, don't you?"

"That's right." Alfred continued to eat his breakfast while cleared the Brit's doubt calmly.

He guess was right. Arthur sank into a deep thought while automatically eating his own cereal. Alfred knew him very well because they had been living together for years when they were the King and Queen of Spades, but how about himself? He knew nothing about Alfred, let alone his interest or habit.

"That isn't fair." Arthur unconsciously muttered his thought out.

"What isn't fair, Arthur?"

"Alfred? Oh I-Sorry I was thinking about something just now. It wasn't a big deal." After realising what he had spoken, Arthur immediately covered his embarrassment with a forced smile. He could not let Alfred knew his worry. His pride wouldn't allow him to do so.

Nevertheless, Alfred didn't trust his lie. "No, Arthur. It's a big deal. Tell me what you are thinking." He didn't give up on inquiring. Alfred saw a small frown on Arthur's face just now, and he knew that something must be troubling the Brit again.

"Alfred…" Arthur relented and frankly answered with a sigh, "You know everything about me, but I know nothing about you. I only know your name, your address, your job…all these surface stuff. It isn't fair to you." Arthur found that he couldn't stop speaking his heart out. He wanted Alfred to know what he was thinking, "Our love isn't fair in the beginning, Alfred. You dedicate too much-"

Before he could continue, Alfred suddenly leant over. The next moment they were kissing as Alfred placed his hand at the back of his head and pressed him forwards to deepen the kiss. At first Arthur was shocked, but slowly he closed his eyes, deciding to indulge himself in the gentle intimacy brought by Alfred. It didn't feel bad. On the contrary, it felt pleasant.

The kiss didn't last long as Alfred moved his lips away from Arthur's after a few seconds. "Arthur," The American stared at the Brit and said slowly, "You have told me last night but I guessed you don't remember because you were too drunk, so here I say it again."

Arthur didn't know how to react that he could just stare at Alfred's serious face. They were so close that he could even feel Alfred's breath smoothing his cheeks. His face was heating up and his heart was thumping fast. What exactly did he tell last night? Arthur just hoped he didn't say something embarrassing.

"I know you are feeling unsafe. You think that I will abandon you one day because you can't remember about being the Queen of Spades," Alfred paused and took a deep breath, "but I can assure you, Arthur, my love and my Queen, I won't leave you. I love you not because you are the Queen, but you are Arthur Kirkland. We can start over again if you want." Despite seriousness, the slightly reddened cheeks showed the big boy's shyness, "Do you want me to be your lover?"

"Alfred…" Arthur couldn't take his eyes off the deep blue ponds. His heart was telling him to accept the man's love. He wanted to be with Alfred, the one he had been loving since the past life. Although Arthur didn't have any memories of their old days, but he was sure that the past him, the Queen of Spades, must be feeling the same as him, that Alfred was the only one for him and he was willing to spend the rest of his life with the man who loved him that much.

"I guess…I could give it a try." Arthur looked away from Alfred and mumbled. He had a lot to tell in his heart, but he just didn't have the courage to say it out. As a result, he could just give Alfred a simple reply like that, but he truly meant it.

"Is that all?" The earnestness that the American presented just a moment ago had vanished right away after Arthur paid his very effort to squeeze those words out. Alfred just whined and pouted, falling back to his seat. "I expect more!"

The touching feeling in his heart disappeared in a split second as anger started to swell up instead. How dare this douchebag take his confession as nonsense and act unsatisfied?! "You arrogant-"

"You said 'I love you' last night!"

The room immediately fell into silence. Arthur's mouth was hanging open and his lips quivering. A single question had appeared on his blank mind: he said what?!

Seeing that the other was totally speechless, Alfred sighed exaggeratedly, "As expected, you don't remember." He gently took Arthur's hand and placed a light kiss on the back of it, "but I will make you say that again, my Queen." He sent a flirty wink to the Brit.

Arthur recovered from astonishment right away as he quickly drew his hand back and shouted embarrassingly, "Just eat your breakfast!"

"Okay, okay." Alfred returned eating his own bowl of meal as he stopped playing with his dishonest lover. The blonds ate their meal in silence once again. After a few minutes, Alfred raised his head from the bowl and peeped at the Brit opposite to him, just to find that Arthur was staring at him too.

"Sorry, I wasn't-"

"Arthur."

"…Yes?"

"Let's go on a date today."

"What?!"

"You see, today is Saturday. We can't waste a day-off! Let's hang out together!" The American exclaimed excitedly like a small boy who was anticipating a school picnic with his classmates. Those eyes were practically shining.

"I know it's Saturday!...But why I have to go on a date with you?!" That face was NOT cute. Not at all.

Alfred scratched his head shyly, "because…we are lovers? Isn't it normal for a couple to spend their weekend together?"

"Well, that's…" Actually he didn't really want to resist and reject the invitation too…after a deep breath, Arthur slowly answered, "Okay, I will go with you, but let me go back home and change first."

"Yeah!" After exclaiming in triumph, Alfred smirked, "You don't have to change so fast, Artie. You look sexy in this outfit, especially with that pair of beautiful legs." As if he wanted to prove his point straight away, Alfred ran his foot up and down on the other's seductively under the table.

"Footsie, um?" Arthur smiled and ruthlessly kicked back the American's foot before he stood up and picked up the empty bowl, "Not a chance."

"Boo~No fun, Artie!" Alfred yelled as Arthur just snorted and walked to the kitchen, but the Brit didn't notice that his bare legs were being 'harassed' by a pair of passionate blue eyes from behind.

Alfred knew his choice was perfect.

* * *

"Amusement park?! Seriously?!" Arthur felt like he was going to faint at the hustle and bustle scenery. After having travelled for 1 hour by car, his driver had led him to this place. All Arthur could see were countless colourful banners waving along the wind. Children were chasing each other and screaming, easy enough to cover his voice. In conclusion, it was definitely a place for kids rather than two male adults in Arthur's opinion. He shouldn't have expected Alfred would bring him to a quiet place.

On the other hand, Alfred seemed to get more and more excited as he jumped to the front and opened his arms, "Of course! I have been dreaming of going to an amusement park since I was a child!" He smiled happily, "I had always wanted to bring you here, because I wanted to share my joy with the one I love the most!"

Arthur flushed at the blatant declaration. This guy really knew how to say things. He hastily went forth and grabbed the American's arm, leading him to the ticketing centre and trying to escape from the passer's glance, "Buy tickets first, you wanker!"

"Mr. Kirkland?"

Arthur paused and he turned his head to see who was calling, but he could find no one.

"Here here!"

Someone was grasping his trouser. Arthur looked down just to see a pair of familiar big green eyes was staring at his face with a huge grin, "Mr. Kirkland!"

"Kaelin? Why are you here? Where are your parents?" Arthur lowered his body and asked the boy.

"They are buying tickets!" The New Zealand child pointed to the front. A blond couple was waving and smiling to them in the queue. Arthur and Alfred nodded back with a smile.

"And why are you and Dr. Jones together, Mr. Kirkland?" The kid asked curiously.

Arthur immediately released his hold on the American and forced a smile, "We are not together, Kaelin. We just bumped into each other-"

"Of course we are!" Before Arthur could voice his denial, Alfred held the Brit's hand and grinned to the kid, "Mr. Kirkland and I are having a good time together! We are going to buy tickets too! Can't wait to go inside!"

"Yes!" Kaelin jumped up and down excitedly, "I want to ride that roller coaster too!"

"Kaelin." The previous blond couple was walking towards them, "We've got the tickets. Now say goodbye to your teachers." The blond mother gestured to Arthur and Alfred as she took the kid's hand.

"Bye bye, Mr. Kirkland and Dr. Jones!"

"Goodbye, Kaelin."

"Bye bye!"

The two male blonds watched the kid walked away with his parents before Alfred led Arthur to the queue, "Now we have to buy our tickets too!"

"Before that, could you please kindly release my hand?" Arthur glared at the American as he struggled to draw his hand from Alfred's, but Alfred's grip was exceptionally tight.

"No! We are couple so we need to hold hands!"

"Are you a fucking teenager?!"

"Yes! I am only 19!"

"You are 40 not 19!"

"But physically I am 19! And I treat my date like a 19!"

"Okay, you win." Arthur sighed hopelessly, giving up on arguing with the American. How came he had fallen in love with this overgrown brat…

"Haha!" The American smirked obnoxiously, "I know you want it, Artie~"

"Shut up. I just don't want us to be separated and waste time on finding you!"

Alfred squeezed the other's hand and whispered to the other with a gentle smile, "We are not going to separate. I promise."

"…Git…" Arthur mumbled as he tightened his hold on Alfred's hand. He got a sinister feeling…but he didn't know why. He just wanted to enjoy this moment with Alfred. Soon Arthur had forgotten about his bad feeling and moved along the queue with Alfred.

* * *

An amusement park trip with Alfred was extremely exhausting. Arthur sat on the couch and adjusted his breath, waiting for Alfred to come back from buying drinks.

They just rode on that bloody roller coaster and Arthur was feeling like he was going to puke right now. Before the roller coaster, they had been to flying carousel and haunted house. The American had been screaming shrilly throughout the whole walk in the haunted house that Arthur had to keep assuring the scared American that the ghosts and the zombies were not real (although he seriously suspected that Alfred couldn't hear him at all, seeing all his voice was totally covered by the shrill scream).

Arthur felt like he was doing his usual job, as known as comforting children, when he was assuring the American. He couldn't help but smile at the retrospect of Alfred hugging him like a small child and whimpering about how frightening those fake creatures looked when they had finally come out from the haunted house. The American was so endearing in that state.

It had been a long while that Arthur felt this happy again. He felt relaxed whenever Alfred was smiling to him. For the first time in his life, he was truly enjoying falling in love. That warm smile had brought him out from darkness and loneliness. It was a feeling of being loved and cared, and Arthur felt like he had experienced this before…

"May I sit here?" An unfamiliar voice had sounded next to him. Arthur looked to the left to see a tall man smiling to him, but he couldn't see any happiness inside those violet eyes.

"Sure." Arthur moved a few inches to the right as the stranger sat down.

"It's a good day, da?"

"The weather is fine and everyone here is all having fun. I guess it can be counted as a 'good day'." Arthur tried to act calm and answered. That sinister feeling that he had thrown behind moments ago seemed to come back again, and it was even stronger than before.

"Yeah…it makes me want to ruin it all." The stranger smiled innocently and turned to Arthur. He stared at those feared green eyes and spoke, "Sorry that I had forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Ivan Braginski. Nice to meet you, Queen of Spades."


End file.
